Elizabeth Martin: The Year of Beginnings
by Kris Pilar
Summary: Elizabeth Martin is a young witch eager to follow her family's footsteps into Hogwarts, especially when she learns that the famous "Boy Who Lived" will be attending the same school as her. Little did she know that a chance meeting with him would spark a friendship that spans the years.
1. Chapter One

**A/N:** Yes, I have done an AU series before. This one promises to be different. Yes, it will still follow canon events. Yes, major events won't change. But Elizabeth's story is more challenging for me to write and will have quite different changes than that of Bryt Watkins'.

I have this one finished writing, and will be updating every Monday-Wednesday-Friday. Enjoy!

And as usual, disclaimer. I own nothing that is JKRowling's.

* * *

Sunlight filtered across the small bedroom of the one-story home out in the English countryside, far from the prying eyes of Muggles. The room itself was quite cozy, with faded walls and a small bed against a wall near the door, a wardrobe with several scratches sitting nearby, a trunk at the foot of her bed, and a desk set at the window to overlook the garden out back.

Sitting on the bed was eleven-year-old Elizabeth Martin. She currently had her legs crossed under her and her brand new red oak wand in her hand, her new copy of _The Standard Book of Spells: Grade 1_ opened in front of her. Her first year at Hogwarts would be beginning in a week and she wanted to make sure she had a head start.

Elizabeth didn't know how Muggle-borns could do it. Here she was, with her wand and able to use magic despite being under-age. Simply because she was a half-blood. Her mother worked as a Healer at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, though her Aunt Ginger worked at the Ministry of Magic, specifically monitoring the Trace on underage witches and wizards. Of course, Elizabeth had once heard her aunt complain about how hard it was to determine underage magic from half-bloods and pure-bloods when there was no telling if it was the child or an of age wizard casting the spell. Aunt Ginger was told those were to be overlooked, that the children's parents were responsible. So Elizabeth learned she could cast magic as soon as she had her wand and wouldn't have to worry about problems.

Well, problems with the Trace, anyway. Actually casting the spells was harder than it looked. She'd been trying a simple levitation charm for the past hour but wasn't getting anywhere.

"_Wingardium Leviosa_!" Elizabeth muttered, jabbing her wand at the rock on her bed, but yet again nothing happened. Elizabeth groaned, flopping back on her bed in frustration, her head hanging over the edge of the bed.

"If you can't even make a rock float, you're on your way to be the worst student at Hogwarts."

Elizabeth opened her eyes, staring upside-down to her door. Though her vision was a bit blurred now. Her glasses had slipped from her face and were now lying on the floor nearby. She grabbed her glasses and sat up, pushing the glasses on and looking back to her door. Her brother stood there, his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned on the door frame, his wand held lazily in his right hand, his shirt left messy and untucked over his jeans. He was smirking at Elizabeth, black hair falling in his face and over his gray eyes.

"Haven't you ever heard of knocking, Lewis?" Elizabeth asked, narrowing her own gray eyes at her brother.

"Your door was open."

"That's not the point. This is my room."

"And my room is right next door," Lewis said with a shrug, "I can't help but see what you're up to when I go down the hall."

"You could just keep walking and not look," Elizabeth pointed out.

"Not when Mum wants you to come get Cream from under the couch again."

Elizabeth gave a sigh and swung her legs off the bed and smoothed down her dress.

"Fine, coming," she said, though as she stood up, Lewis pointed his own wand at the rock on Elizabeth's bed.

"_Wingardium Leviosa_," he said and with a quick flick, the rock levitated off the bed. He turned and smirked at Elizabeth. "You've got a long way to go."

Elizabeth glared at her brother, then pushed pass him and headed into the living room. He was such an annoying show-off.

The walls of the living room were sun-worn like in Elizabeth's bedroom and a light-colored couch and several armchairs were angled around the fireplace. Elizabeth found her mother knelt by the couch. She was wearing her lime green Healer robes, having just come home from work, and all Elizabeth could see was a green figure with a long brown braid.

"Lewis said you need help?" Elizabeth asked as she came over, squatting next to her mother so the ends of her dress brushed the floor.

"Yes, your cat won't come out," Grace Martin said as she pulled back, looking at Elizabeth with brown eyes. Aside from those eyes, Elizabeth did take a lot after her mother. The same brown hair, the same face full of freckles, the same shape of the nose...Though the similarities ended there. Her mother was tall and a bit full-figured. Elizabeth, on the other hand, was a scrawny thing who hadn't quite grown into herself yet. Of course, at eleven years old, she had a while to go.

"I'll get her," Elizabeth said, bending over a bit more so she could get a better view of the Siamese kitten under the couch, "C'mon, Cream, come on."

She reached her hand under the couch, scratching the kitten behind the ears. Cream shoved her head against Elizabeth's hand, purring softly and Elizabeth carefully maneuvered her kitten out from under the couch, immediately scooping her up.

"Now you better not pull stunts like this at Hogwarts," she said, looking down at the cat, "I won't be there to rescue you all the time."

"I think she's perfectly capable of coming out on her own," Grace said, "Once she gets used to the school and realizes you aren't coming to get her, I'm sure she'll stop."

"I hope so," Elizabeth said, putting the kitten down and letting her run off. Cream was more trouble than she was worth sometimes, but she was Elizabeth's. Her birthday present from her mother last October.

"Mind cleaning up the living room a bit?" Grace asked, "Ginger's coming."

Elizabeth grinned at that. Her Aunt Ginger was one of her favorite people. Even if she was nearly thirty, but she often insisted that she 'only finished Hogwarts a few years ago'. Elizabeth turned from her mother, going to start straightening things up. She'd always been one who liked things to stay organized and tidy, so she was one of the rare people who liked to clean.

She got the couch straightened up, then went to the fireplace where the usual moving pictures were lined along it. Family photos, though several had a man in it Elizabeth had never met before. Her father.

He had died during the war against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Before Elizabeth had even been born. Alexander Martin, extraordinary Auror and brave to the end, as her mother always told her. Elizabeth always felt proud to have a father like him, but hated that she also had to grow up without him. Apparently, he'd been killed by a Death Eater named Augustus Rookwood, simply because Alexander was a Muggle-born. Grace had said that after she found out, she had to go into hiding with Lewis and Ginger while she was still pregnant with Elizabeth.

Then, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named met his end in a baby, a boy named Harry Potter who has been the only person to survive the Killing Curse. He was the Boy Who Lived. Elizabeth couldn't help but wonder what type of person Harry was now.

It was always clear looking at the photos that her father was where Elizabeth's gray eyes came from, as well as the overall shape of her face and mouth. Though overall, Lewis was almost identical to their father. Much more than Elizabeth looked like her mother anyway.

Elizabeth turned away from the photos and continued cleaning, working to get the house spotless, even making sure to clean the cage of the family owl, Daisy. Just as Elizabeth was finishing cleaning, her Aunt Ginger arrived.

Like Grace, Aunt Ginger was tall and slim, with brown hair and equally brown eyes. She was energetic and fun-loving, making her a joy to be around. She always knew just what to say to cheer someone up. Even if Elizabeth had more aunts, or maybe even uncles, she had a feeling Aunt Ginger would still be her favorite.

"Hey Aunt Ginger!" Elizabeth said brightly, coming over and hugging her.

"You'd think she never came over," Lewis said, laughing and waving from where he was standing at the hallway. Elizabeth rolled her eyes. She loved Aunt Ginger visiting, which was almost every day. Aunt Ginger was a horrible cook, so she often came over to eat.

"I hear someone's starting Hogwarts next week," Aunt Ginger said.

"That will be the worst witch of the year," Lewis said with a smirk and Elizabeth glared at her brother.

"Don't listen to him," Aunt Ginger turned back to Elizabeth, "I'm sure you'll be the best."

"Not really, I can't even cast _Wingardium Leviosa_," Elizabeth said.

"Neither could I, at first," Grace said from the doorway to the kitchen, "Don't worry, Elizabeth. Once you're at school and learning, it'll be easier."

"Well, as long as she keeps up the family tradition," Aunt Ginger said, "We need to add to the line of Hufflepuffs."

Elizabeth's appetite was suddenly gone, though she followed her family into the kitchen and dining room. It was a small space, one wall nearly taken up by a fireplace large enough to stand in, connected to the Floo Network. The kitchen was set up along one wall with the ice box and large stove, and a nice round table sat nearby, surrounded by chairs and currently set for dinner. Elizabeth went over and took a seat between her mother and aunt, but she didn't start eating.

Her entire family had been Hufflepuff. Even her father, who had been Muggle-born. What would happen if she ended up in Ravenclaw or Gryffindor? Or worse, Slytherin?

"Don't worry about it so much," Grace said and Elizabeth looked up to her mother, "The House you end up in doesn't matter. Just enjoy being at Hogwarts. Make friends. Learn all you can."

Elizabeth resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Her mother always was a bit corny. But she did feel a bit better. Even if she didn't get into Hufflepuff, at least she hoped her family wouldn't hold it against her.

"Leave it to Grace to be the sap," Aunt Ginger said with a smirk. Grace rolled her eyes at her younger sister.

"How exactly does the Sorting work?" Elizabeth asked. She didn't know why she'd never thought of this before...She'd heard of the Sorting so many times, and the Sorting Hat, but never really bothered to find out exactly what it was.

"Well, the Sorting Hat sings a song about the Houses and their qualities," Grace said, "Then the first years are called one by one and put on the Hat. He talks to you and then will sort you into the House he believes you're most suited for."

"Unless you're not suited for any," Lewis said, "Then you're sent back home on the train."

"What?" Elizabeth croaked, staring at Lewis with wide eyes.

"Lewis Brian Martin!" Grace said sharply.

"Ignore him," Aunt Ginger said, "No one is ever Unsortable. Sometimes people take longer than others to Sort, there was a guy in my year that took nearly five minutes. But don't worry, everyone gets Sorted into one House or another."

"I hope so..." Elizabeth said slowly, looking back down at her food. What if they were wrong? What if some people were Unsortable?

"Stop worrying about it, Elizabeth," Grace said, "Worrying will only make you sick over nothing."

"And we all know it'd be a shame for you not to enjoy your mother's well-cooked meal," Aunt Ginger said.

Elizabeth grinned at that, looking back down to her food and taking a bite of it. Her mother was a really good cook, it was something she was going to miss once she was at Hogwarts. Maybe she could ask her mother to send her baked goods now and then...

The rest of dinner passed in the usual manner, with the family talking and joking before Aunt Ginger had to leave. Lewis helped their mother clean up while Elizabeth went back to her room, where Cream was curled up on her pillow. Elizabeth just grinned, going over and sitting on her bed, picking up her wand again. Maybe it was time to practice a different spell...Something easier than Wingardium Leviosa. Maybe a simple color-changing spell.

The next week fell into a routine of Elizabeth failing at spells she was trying, Lewis constantly teasing her over it, and the two getting a head start on their packing. As the week wore on, Elizabeth still found herself nervous about the Sorting and going to Hogwarts. What would happen if she wasn't in Hufflepuff. How her family would react...

Elizabeth woke up early on the morning of September first. Of course, that wasn't unusual. She was always a bit of an early bird. Though the dream she'd just woken up from was definitely unusual. She'd dreamed she was riding a giant badger through a large, grassy meadow. Obviously she'd been worrying far too much about whether or not she'd be in Hufflepuff.

'_I really need to just let it go,'_ Elizabeth thought as she swung her legs off her bed. Her room was bathed in the low, morning light and she knew her mother would already be awake. She ran a hand through her messy hair and pulled on her house coat, then headed from her bedroom down the hall and through the living room, on into the kitchen.

"Good morning, Elizabeth," Grace said when she noticed her daughter. She was currently at the stove, cooking up a pan of eggs for breakfast, "Sleep well?"

"Yes," Elizabeth said with a nod as she sat at the table. She noticed the _Daily Prophet_ on the table, the front page article yet again covering the break-in to Gringotts the month before. The thought still unnerved her. No one had ever broken into Gringotts before, and all the theories were that it had to be the work of Dark wizards.

"I'm nervous about today..." Elizabeth said slowly, looking away from the paper, trying to keep her mind off it.

"Don't be," Grace said, "Best advice is to stop worrying. You've got your older brother looking out for you, no matter what House you end up in. Besides, if you really want it, you'll be in Hufflepuff."

"How are you so sure?" Elizabeth asked quietly.

"Because I'm your mother."

Elizabeth pursed her lips at that. That reasoning stopped working on her when she was six. Still, she knew her mother was right about one thing. She really needed to stop worrying about this. She had more important things to worry about, after all. Like how much she was going to miss being home. What House she was going to end up in shouldn't matter. As long as she wasn't in Slytherin.

Elizabeth tried to distract herself with looking through the paper. She'd just flipped it open when one article jumped out at her and her eyes widened as she read it:

**HARRY POTTER "THE BOY WHO LIVED" TO ATTEND HOGWARTS**

"Mum!" Elizabeth said excitedly, looking up at Grace, "Mum! Harry Potter is going to Hogwarts!"

"I read that," Grace said with a nod. Elizabeth frowned at how uninterested her mother was. Of course, her mother was never really interested in celebrities. Unless it was Gilderoy Lockhart.

As the morning went on, the nerves kept coming. Though Elizabeth had no idea if it was over the Sorting, or just being away from home. She found herself thinking far more on the things she was going to miss than on what House she'd be in. Her mind also kept going to the fact that Harry Potter would be attending Hogwarts with her. The boy who stopped He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Maybe she'd get up enough nerve to go tell him hello one day...

Elizabeth tried to keep it from her mind as she went to her room after breakfast. She was going to miss the view of the gardens out her window that she got to see every time she was at her desk. The dark purple quilt thrown over her bed. The old wardrobe that held her clothes. Heck, she was even going to miss the way the floors creaked when she walked on them. Funny the little things she could notice now that she was going to be leaving it for months.

Elizabeth sighed, looking back to her trunk at the foot of her bed, resuming her packing. She had most everything packed already. Her books, her robes, clothes, parchment, quill, and ink, anything she'd need for the year. What she was packing now was last-minute things. Like her hairbrush, pictures of her family, Cream's cat brush, some sweets her mother had baked...

The girl slowly closed her trunk now that everything was packed and went to her window, leaning over the desk to stare out at the garden, slowly brightening in the growing morning light. Was she going to make any friends? Sure, she knew a few people. Mostly by the names of their families, but she didn't know many personally. Very few, actually. Adjusting to Hogwarts was going to be a challenge in itself...


	2. Chapter Two

_**Chapter Two:**_

The time finally came and the family went through side-along Apparation to an alley in London near the King's Cross Station. Elizabeth carried Cream in a carrier while her mother handled the heavy trunk for her, Lewis walking along behind dragging his trunk in one hand and holding his caged owl. Once out of the alley, they walked the familiar path down the street to the train station before getting their things on trolleys and through the magical barrier that separated Platform 9 3/4 from the Muggle world.

Elizabeth had always liked the platform. Every time she came it was busy and noisy, though she could honestly do without the crowds. She always felt uncomfortable in crowds, though if she kept herself moving it wasn't so bad. Today's crowds were no different. Families bustling here and there, people shouting over others or helping children onto the train. As they walked, the Martin family passed a large group of red-heads whom Elizabeth had seen on the platform both of the past years she came to see her brother off or welcome him home. She passed the Malfoys, whom she knew through reputation as a family with connections to dark magic, and she made sure to give them a wide berth. She even saw Susan Bones, a girl she met when shopping in Diagon Alley. Elizabeth waved to her with a grin before she and Lewis got their stuff on the train and Lewis went off to find friend Cedric Diggory while Elizabeth returned to say goodbye to her mother, her stomach twisting into knots again. It was becoming more real. She was leaving.

"Take care of yourself, okay?" Grace asked, reaching up to adjust Elizabeth's jacket and brush the bangs that were loose from her pigtails from her face. Elizabeth felt her face grow hot as she pushed her mother's hand away.

"Mum, I'll be fine," Elizabeth muttered.

"I know, but I still have to say it," Grace said, "Just be careful, take care of yourself. Do your best in classes."

"I will," Elizabeth said with a nod. She saw tears at the edge of her mother's eyes and it suddenly seemed to hit her. She wasn't going to see her mother again for months...

"I'll see you at Christmas, okay?" Grace said with a grin, "You'll be fine."

Elizabeth nodded and leaned forward, hugging her mother tightly. She wasn't going to see her again for months...This was the last contact she'd have until December.

"I'll miss you, Mum," she said as the train whistle blew. Her heart skipped a beat at that. This was it.

"I'll miss you too, Elizabeth," Grace said with a grin, "I'll write often."

"I will too," Elizabeth said, nodding as the train gave a jolt and started moving. Elizabeth leaned out the door, waving to her mother until she disappeared around the corner. Elizabeth felt her stomach was in tight knots now. She was on her way to Hogwarts, and for once her nerves had nothing to do with the House she'd be in. It was all about if she'd make friends, how she'd adjust to being away from home...

Elizabeth sighed. There was no changing it now. She should just find a compartment and enjoy the ride to Hogwarts. She hefted up the end of her trunk, trying to lug it the best she could while also carrying Cream in her cat carrier while the kitten kept crying and hissing.

"I know," Elizabeth huffed in straining with her trunk, "I'll let...let you out...in a minute."

She just needed to find a compartment...She passed several along the way, but never of anyone she knew. Mostly older students, one with one of the many red-haired kids, sitting and talking with a boy with black hair and glasses. They looked her age and she almost sat with them, but didn't want to interrupt their conversation—she guessed it was something to do with the rat the red-haired boy had—so she kept moving, soon finding a compartment with a girl her age, sitting alone with her nose buried in a book. All Elizabeth could see was a headful of bushy brown hair and the fact the girl was already in her school robes.

"Mind...Mind if I join?" Elizabeth asked, feeling out of breath and her arms were sore.

The bushy-haired girl looked up, blinking a few times before her brown eyes focused on Elizabeth.

"Go right ahead, I don't mind," she said, getting up and putting her book to the side, coming over and helping Elizabeth with her things.

"Thanks," Elizabeth said, putting Cream's carrier down and letting the kitten out before she turned back to girl, "I'm Elizabeth Martin, by the way."

"Hermione Granger," the girl said as Elizabeth sat down across from her, "All of this is so fascinating, isn't it? Ever since I got my letter, I've been reading everything I can on the magical world and on Hogwarts. Did you know there are a hundred and forty-two staircases and they can change at any time? And there are at least twenty ghosts that call the school home?"

Hermione said all of this so quickly that it took a couple of minutes for Elizabeth to sort it out. Elizabeth just stared, wondering how she knew so much about Hogwarts already. Of course, Elizabeth knew plenty. She knew about the ghosts and Peeves the Poltergeist and the moving staircases. But she didn't know the exact numbers.

"Er...No, I didn't know that..." she said slowly, glancing towards the book next to Hermione. She apparently had been in the middle of reading _Hogwarts: A History_. Her mother had that book on a shelf, but it was so thick, Elizabeth never bothered with it except when she needed a boost to stand on for higher shelves. Besides, Elizabeth wasn't all that interested with history anyway.

"You should read _Hogwarts: A History_," Hermione said, picking up her book, "It's been fascinating. I've read all about the founders of the school, and I've read so many other history books. I've even tried a few simple spells and they've been working. You?"

Elizabeth flushed brightly. It sounded like Hermione was Muggle-born. She'd heard many stories about how Muggle-born students can become fascinated and fixated on the history of the wizarding world, and it seemed as if Hermione was one of them.

"Er..." Elizabeth started, messing with one of her pigtails as she looked out the window, "No...I've tried a few, but they haven't worked all that well..." Elizabeth glanced back at Hermione, "Are you a first year, too?"

"Oh, yes," Hermione said with a nod, "I didn't even know I was a witch until I got my letter. All of this is just so fascinating."

"I guess I'm used to it," Elizabeth said with a shrug, "I was raised a witch."

"I've read so much on how you live!" Hermione said, "Is it true that there are witches and wizards living everywhere? That they hide their houses within Muggle communities?"

"Yeah," Elizabeth said with a nod, glancing at Hermione. Did she ever stop asking questions? "My family doesn't, though. We live out in the country."

"It must be really nice. Do you know anything about the Sorting? I've read all about the four Houses in _Hogwarts: A History_. They all have their strong points, but I don't think I'd like Slytherin very much. I've asked around and they don't seem that nice. Gryffindor seems the best. I heard even Dumbledore was in that House, I hope I get there myself."

'_Pretty sure you'll end up in Ravenclaw,'_ Elizabeth thought, though she didn't have a chance to respond as the compartment door opened and a plump woman leaned her head in.

"Anything from the trolley, dears?" she asked.

"Yes, please!" Elizabeth hopped up, eager for a little distraction from Hermione as she went over to the trolley, already digging into her pocket for coins to pay with. She didn't get much, just a pack of Berty Bott's Every Flavor Beans, and a couple of chocolate frogs and liquorish wands. Though as she sat back down, she noticed Hermione hadn't gotten anything. Elizabeth glanced down at her sweets, then held out one of the wands and frogs.

"I don't mind sharing," she said with a grin.

Hermione looked surprised, though she shook her head a little.

"Oh, no, I don't usually eat many sweets," she said, "My parents are dentists."

"What's a dentist?" Elizabeth asked, utterly confused. She'd never heard that word before...

"They work on people's teeth," Hermione said, motioning to her own mouth, where Elizabeth noticed her front teeth were a bit large, "They're doctors who fix problems like diseases or broken teeth."

"So they're like a healer who only heals teeth?" Elizabeth asked, "How can they manage that? There's plenty of spells to do the work, any healer can take care of a broken tooth."

How did Muggles manage things like that? It was so strange. They had to do so much on something as simple as fixing a tooth, that they needed special doctors for it?

"Don't healers have certain fields?" Hermione asked.

"Not really," Elizabeth said, "I mean, we have those who are better at certain things than others, but most all healers learn all the same techniques. My mother's a healer, actually."

"That job has to be so interesting," Hermione said, and looked as if she were about to say more, but Elizabeth held up the sweets again, wanting to cut her off.

"A few sweets won't bother you, here," she said with a grin.

"Oh...Thanks," Hermione said with a small grin, taking the licorice wand and chocolate frog. Though this didn't detour Hermione's long-winded talks. She kept on while she ate, talking about everything that Elizabeth already knew about, and stuff she never really wanted to know, about her own world. So it came as a relief when the compartment door opened again.

Standing there was Neville Longbottom, a small, round-faced boy Elizabeth had known for a few years, even if she didn't really call him a friend. She always felt sorry for the boy, though. She remembered first meeting him when she and her brother were supposed to be staying in the visitor's lounge of the hospital when their mother was working. Aunt Ginger was still in Hogwarts at the time, so there was no one to watch the kids. They were allowed to stay in the visitor's lounge at St Mungo's, though Elizabeth often sneaked off to wander the halls and watch Healers work.

It was one of those days when she met Neville. Elizabeth had been walking through the halls and ran into an old woman with a vulture on her hat, leading along a boy Elizabeth's age. They were coming from the permanent residents wing and Elizabeth had learned that Neville's parents were there, having ended up there years ago during the war against He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

"Hi, Neville," Elizabeth said, grabbing Cream and then standing up as she noticed the tears on Neville's face, "What's wrong?"

"My toad," Neville said weakly, "My uncle gave me a toad when I got my letter, I can't find him anywhere!"

"We can help you look for him," Hermione said, standing up herself.

Elizabeth was eager to agree. She got Cream shut back up in the cat carrier before heading out into the corridor, splitting up with Neville and Hermione. Elizabeth genuinely did want to help Neville, but she couldn't help but be glad that she was also going to be getting away from Hermione as well. She was going to have enough adults going on long rambles they expected her to remember. She didn't want it from someone her own age, too.

Elizabeth went up and down the corridors, stopping at every compartment to ask if anyone had seen Neville's toad though none had. She was still looking when a voice over the speakers announced that they would be arriving at Hogwarts in five minutes. Elizabeth felt her stomach tie in knots again as she realized she needed to get into her robes. She hurried back down the corridor, passing Neville along the way. She grinned at him as she passed, realizing he'd found his toad. He was gripping the little creature in his hands as he went past.

Elizabeth reached the compartment she shared with Hermione and got her robes out from her trunk and pulled them on quickly, leaning down to Cream in the cat carrier.

"You can come out in a little bit, once we're at Hogwarts," she said softly, stumbling a little as the train rolled to a stop. She looked up, swallowing hard before straightening her robes, her heart pounding a little. This was it. She'd reached Hogwarts.

Elizabeth followed the flow of students off the train onto a small platform, darkly lit by a single lamp hanging overhead. She started looking around as she tightened her robes around her, trying to find any sign of where she was supposed to be going.

"Firs' years! Firs' years over here!"

Elizabeth turned to the voice, moving towards it. She knew of Hagrid the groundskeeper from her brother, but when she got closer and saw the very, very tall man, she couldn't help but widen her eyes. She'd never seen someone so tall before. He was a bit terrifying, to be honest, and she found herself sinking back a little.

Once all the first years were gathered together, Hagrid led them on down a narrow path. Elizabeth found herself glancing around, taking in the faces around her and if she recognized anyone. She saw Susan Bones. Neville was a little up ahead of her, clutching his toad and sniffing, walking between the red-haired boy and the black-haired boy Elizabeth had seen while trying to find a place to sit. And, of course, Hermione was walking right beside Elizabeth. Elizabeth was glad that Hermione was staying quiet now. She kept glancing around the crowd, finding herself wondering which of these students with her was Harry Potter...

"Yeh'll get yer firs' sight o' Hogwarts in a sec. Jus' round this bend here," Hagrid called up ahead.

Sure enough, when they came around a turn in the path, it opened to the edge of a large lake, the waters smooth and dark. Though that's not what drew Elizabeth's attention. Instead, she was staring across the lake in awe. There was a large silhouette of a castle across the waters, yellow lights glowing here and there from the windows. She was so mesmerized with the castle, she barely heard Hagrid directing them to boats nearby, telling them to board four to a boat.

Elizabeth went over, noticing Neville and Hermione boarding a boat with the two boys she saw on the train. Elizabeth got into a boat with three students she didn't recognize, and once everyone was settled, the boats slowly started to glide across the water.


	3. Chapter Three

_**Chapter Three:**_

The boats took them into a small cave, hidden among the edge of a cliff and apparently a part of the castle itself. Elizabeth climbed out with the other students, gathering together as they all crowded on the steps by a door and Elizabeth suddenly started to feel uncomfortable. She was keenly aware of the other students pressing against her and she kept having to close her eyes, taking slower breaths. She never liked crowds. And here in this dark, small space didn't make things much better. Elizabeth heard knocking, then a door opening and she forced herself to look up, keeping her body ridged and tense. Deep breaths, she kept telling herself. Just slow, deep breaths.

Standing in the doorway in front of them was a tall, stern-looking woman in green robes, her black hair pulled into a tight bun. Elizabeth fidgeted a little. She'd heard horror stories from Lewis about Professor McGonagall, Assistant Headmistress of Hogwarts. Hagrid addressing her only confirmed that this was, in fact, the fabled teacher.

"Thank you, Hagrid," Professor McGonagall said, "I'll take them from here."

Elizabeth suddenly felt as if she'd be safer with the giant man than this teacher. But she had no choice but to follow the flow of students into a large room. Students began spreading out a little, giving Elizabeth a bit of breathing room, and she immediately felt relief. The weight of everything pressing on her had lifted just slightly, just enough that she could look around and take in her surroundings. She'd seen glimpses of the castle in photographs, but the real thing was far beyond what any picture could capture. An entrance hall so large Elizabeth could easily run around freely, torches lit along stone walls, doors heading off to various corridors, and a massive marble staircase spread in front of them, leading to upper floors.

Voices were coming from the other side of a nearby door and Elizabeth guessed it was the Great Hall, where all the students were waiting for the Sorting to begin. They moved passed the door into a smaller chamber to the side and again, Elizabeth was on edge. The students had to crowd in and Elizabeth put off as long as she could going in, to the point when she finally did, she was right at the door. Something she was grateful for. She felt other students pressing against her and that was making her uncomfortable enough as it was.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," Professor McGonagall said once she had everyone's attention, "The start-of-term banquet will begin shortly, but before you take your seats in the Great Hall, you will be sorted into your Houses."

McGonagall went on to explain why the Sorting was important and listing the four Houses. Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin. She also explained the rules and process of House points and the House Cup awarded at the end of the year. Elizabeth didn't hear too much of it. Enough to get by, but mostly it was a buzz as she kept glancing at the door, eager to get out of the small room.

'_Slow, deep breaths,'_ she told herself again.

"I shall return when we are ready for you. Please wait quietly," Professor McGonagall said and Elizabeth felt her heart leap to her throat as the woman left, closing the door behind her.

Breathe in. Breathe out. Slow breaths. That's how she'd deal with this. Just slow, deep breaths. Focus on people talking around her...

"How exactly do they sort us into Houses?" a boy nearby asked. Elizabeth forced herself to look over, seeing it was the black-haired boy in glasses from the train.

"Some sort of test, I think," said the red-haired boy next to him, "Fred said it hurts a lot, but I think he was joking."

"Mum told me we just had to try on some old hat," Elizabeth found her voice, speaking up meekly. Just talk. It'd get her through this. "You just put on this talking hat, it talks to you, then tells everyone where you belong."

Someone nearby them gave a scream and Elizabeth jumped, spinning in the short space. Floating through the wall above them was a group of ghosts. Elizabeth had seen ghosts before, they didn't bother her. But with her nerves on high from the Sorting, and the small space feeling as if it was closing in, she was pretty jumpy.

"Forgive and forget, I say," said a very fat ghost, dressed like an old monk, "We ought to give him a second chance—"

"My dear Friar," said a second ghost, in tights and ruffles, especially one big collared one around his neck, "Haven't we given Peeves all the chances he deserves? He gives us all a bad name and you know, he's not really even a ghost—I say, what are you all doing here?"

"New students!" the ghost monk said, "About to be sorted, I suppose? Hope to see you in Hufflepuff! My old House, you know!"

'_He must be the Fat Friar,'_ Elizabeth thought, remembering the letters Lewis had written her about the Hufflepuff House ghost.

The door opened nearby and Elizabeth gave a sigh of relief, seeing Professor McGonagall had returned, fetching them for the Sorting. Anything to get out of the small room. With the tight spaces pressing in on her, any of Elizabeth's worries about what House she'd be in were wiped from her mind. It all seemed like a distant worry. Sure, it was in the back of her mind, but now in the castle, she seemed full of a new confidence that she'd be in Hufflepuff either way.

Professor McGonagall led them back across the entrance way, and into the doors they passed earlier. Elizabeth immediately started looking around, taking in everything. On either side of the doors were two long tables, lined with benches, and a fifth table was at the far end of the room. Students were sitting at the four longer tables, chatting and turning to see the first years coming in. Thousands of candles floated overhead, the only thing blocking the enchanted ceiling that mirrored the starry sky outside. Elizabeth had never seen anything more breathtaking.

The first years made it to the head table, which Elizabeth saw was lined with adults. The staff, obviously. Elizabeth turned from them back to Professor McGonagall, who was setting up a stool and putting an old hat on top of it. Elizabeth shifted from foot to foot, watching as the hat seemed to open at the brim. Like Elizabeth's mother had told her, the hat sang. Its song told Elizabeth what she knew already. They were to wear the hat and be Sorted into one of the four Houses. Easy and simple.

Except for the fact Elizabeth felt a bit sick. What would happen if she didn't end up in Hufflepuff? Worse, what if she was in Slytherin?

"When I call your name," Professor McGonagall said, stepping forward and unrolling a piece of parchment, "You will put on the hat and sit on the stool to be Sorted. Abbott, Hannah!"

Elizabeth watched as a blonde girl with her hair in pigtails made her way to the stool, sitting down and letting the hat fall over her head, nearly swallowing it whole.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" the hat shouted after a moment.

The table near Elizabeth started clapping and Hannah was soon joined by Susan Bones. Elizabeth watched her sit next to Hannah, then began scanning the Hufflepuff table. She quickly spotted her brother, sitting with his friend, Cedric Diggory. The two were laughing over something, though when Lewis caught Elizabeth's gaze, he grinned and waved at her. Elizabeth gave a weak grin back. Merlin, she hoped she'd be at that table soon...

Elizabeth turned back to the line of those being Sorted, varying who went where. Some to the Hufflepuff table, some to Slytherin, and some to Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. Each name called heightened Elizabeth's nerves more.

"Granger, Hermione!"

Elizabeth felt something brush past her as Hermione practically ran to the stool, eagerly pulling the hat over her head. Elizabeth rolled her eyes at that. There was such thing as 'too energetic'.

Though it seemed several minutes before the hat finally came to a decision and shouted: "GRYFFINDOR!" Elizabeth heard the red-haired boy near her groan as Hermione hurried to the Gryffindor table next to the Hufflepuff one. Elizabeth had to admit, that one shocked her. She was sure Hermione would be in Ravenclaw.

Another student that took forever to sort was Neville Longbottom. Like Hermione, it took several minutes before he was also sent to Gryffindor. Though as the line went on, Elizabeth wasn't surprised that Malfoy, Draco barely even got the hat on his head when it shouted "SLYTHERIN!"

"Martin, Elizabeth!"

Elizabeth took a deep breath, looking to her brother. Again, he flashed her an encouraging grin and Elizabeth grinned back. This was it. She was going to be Sorted. She went to the stool and sat down, closing her eyes. She felt the hat barely even dropped over her head when she suddenly heard the shout:

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

Elizabeth grinned brightly, relief rushing through her as the hat was pulled away and she hurried over, sitting down beside Susan and Hannah. She had been so sure the hat would take forever. That her worries would be drawn out. Thankfully, it went by quickly and she was so relieved she was now in Hufflepuff with her brother.

"Hello," Elizabeth said softly to the girls next to her, "Nice to see you again, Susan. Nice to meet you, Hannah."

"Welcome to Hufflepuff," a slightly older boy near them said with a grin. Elizabeth grinned back.

The sorting continued on, student after student joining various Houses. Elizabeth watched, clapping whenever someone joined the Hufflepuffs, though she was eager for the Sorting to finish. She was hungry.

"Potter, Harry!"

Elizabeth sat up straighter, as did Hannah and Susan on either side of her.

"Did she just say Potter?" Elizabeth asked, her eyes widening. She saw the black-harried boy in glasses moving to the stool. Her eyes widened as she watched the hat dropped over his head. She'd been standing so close to him in that crowded corridor earlier. She'd actually _talked_ to him. Well, not really talked _to_ him. She'd only said one thing. But the fact she'd been so close to the famous Boy Who Lived and didn't even realize it...The fact she was going to school with him now, that she'd probably be sitting in classes with him...Elizabeth couldn't believe it.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Elizabeth covered her ears as the table right behind her erupted into the loudest applause of the night. She could still hear a couple of people shouting "We got Potter!" over and over. Elizabeth watched as Harry head to the Gryffindor table, sitting actually very close to Elizabeth with his back to her. She couldn't help but stare, as did Susan and Hannah next to her.

"Harry Potter, can you believe it?" Susan whispered, glancing over her shoulder constantly, "He's right there!"

The rest of the Sorting was forgotten by the three girls as they leaned together, whispering excitedly.

"I read in the _Daily Prophet_ that he was going to attend Hogwarts," Elizabeth whispered, "But actually seeing him right there!"

"I wonder what he's like?" Hannah asked softly, "He got rid of You-Know-Who as a baby. He has to be nice, right?"

"I'm not surprised at all he ended up in Gryffindor," Susan whispered, "Though it would have been nice to have him here in Hufflepuff...Imagine, sharing a House with the Boy Who Lived!"

"Welcome!" a voice came nearby and Elizabeth looked up to see Professor Dumbledore had stood up. She recognized him easily from one of the many chocolate frog cards in her collection, or from _Daily Prophet_ articles her mother read. He was an elderly man with a long beard and a friendly smile and bright, lively blue eyes.

"Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts!" Dumbledore went on, "Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are: Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"

Elizabeth laughed a little as the students clapped, and she turned just in time to see the food magically appear on the table in front of them. She'd only had a few sweets for lunch, so she was starving. She immediately fixed herself a nice helping of roast beef and potatoes.

"Welcome, students!"

This time, it was the ghost of the Fat Friar who was speaking. He'd floated over to the end of the table where the first years were, grinning brightly.

"My, we have a good bunch this year, don't we?" he asked with a jolly laugh, "I'm the Fat Friar, the Hufflepuff ghost. Here's to a good year!"

The Fat Friar left and Elizabeth turned back to the others, where they were making rounds introducing themselves among the first years. She already knew Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott, but there was also Megan Jones, Sally-Anne Perks, Ernie Macmillan, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Wayne Hopkins, Rodger Malone, and Oliver Rivers.

"I can't wait for classes to start, myself," Justin was saying, "I'm Muggle-born, see. I didn't even know about any of this before I got my letter."

'_Merlin, he's not going to be as bad as Hermione, is he?' _Elizabeth thought, though he didn't start on any rambles because Hannah had spoken up.

"I hear that there's werewolves out in the forest and a big squid in the lake," she said, "And that there's actually a ghost who teaches."

"Lewis told me the same thing," Elizabeth said, "He also told me people could be Unsortable. You can't always believe everything."

Eventually, the dinner was replaced with desserts and Elizabeth immediately helped herself to apple pie as the conversations around her continued.

"I'm really looking forward to when the Quidditch season starts," Rodger was saying, "I've been to a few games, but it'll be different when it's my own school team I'm rooting for."

"My brother's actually planning to try out," Elizabeth put in, "He's a third year."

"What position is he trying for?" Susan asked.

"Chaser," Elizabeth replied, "Lewis says they need new people on the teams. Slytherin's been dominating the House and Quidditch cups. I'd say this should be the year we change that."

"Hear hear!" the boys echoed, and the group of first-years all lifted their glasses in toast.

Elizabeth felt right at home already. She was enjoying talking with her Housemates, from Quidditch to classes to family histories. She was almost disappointed when the feast ended and the last of the desserts vanished. Elizabeth looked up to see Dumbledore had risen to his feet again.

"Just a few more words now that we are all fed and watered," Dumbledore called over the students, "I have a few start-of-term notices to give you."

The notices seemed like things Elizabeth already knew from family members. The forest was forbidden to students. No magic in the corridors. Announcements for when Quidditch trials would start.

"And finally," Dumbledore finished, "I must tell you that this year, the third-floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death."

"Wh-what?" Hannah asked weakly next to Elizabeth, her face paling slightly.

"I'm sure it's nothing serious," Susan said, "Don't worry. They're probably just trying to scare us away from the corridor."

"Well, it worked," Elizabeth said with a nod. She definitely wasn't going anywhere near it.

"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" Dumbledore said, pulling out his wand and words appeared in midair in front of him. Quickly, everyone was singing along at different tunes and speeds, until when it finished, only two people were still singing at a slow march. Elizabeth looked over and noticed it was an identical pair of red-heads.

"Ah, music," Dumbledore said cheerfully, "A magic beyond all we do here! And now, bedtime. Off you trot!"

Elizabeth got to her feet as a couple of Prefects called them over. At least, Elizabeth assumed they were the Prefects. They were calling over the first years, and were both wearing small yellow-and-black pins with a P engraved on it. It kind of gave it away.

"Just this way, Hufflepuffs," one said, "We're actually pretty close to the Great Hall. Follow us."


	4. Chapter Four

_**Chapter Four:**_

Elizabeth followed along with the other first years across the entrance hall to a set of stairs leading downwards. As they went down, Elizabeth noticed the corridor was brightly lit, with pictures of various foods lining the walls. The Prefects led the students on down the corridor and stopped by an alcove that had a stack of large barrels in it.

"Now, pay attention, first years," one Prefect said, pulling out his wand, "This is very important. We are about to teach you the secret to entering the Hufflepuff Common Room."

Elizabeth leaned forward, watching closely as the Prefects pointed out a specific barrel for them to tap with their wands, and a specific rhythm to do so. Two taps, a slight pause, then three more. One told them if they ever forgot, just do the taps to the name 'Helga Hufflepuff', their House founder.

Several of the barrels in the center seemed to have sunk back, revealing an earthy, sloping passageway that moved upwards. Elizabeth followed with the other Hufflepuffs up the path and into a large, warm-feeling room decorated with plants and plush armchairs and couches. Elizabeth noticed a painting over the fireplace of an attractive, plump woman holding a small golden cup with badgers on it. Elizabeth noticed there were also badgers carved onto the fireplace.

As she looked around, she noticed round windows on the outside ground level above them. She realized they were underground, but she didn't feel at all closed in. Everything seemed warm and cozy here, very homey and welcoming.

"Girl's dorms are through the door on the right," one Prefect said, "The boys are on the left. Head on to bed everyone, classes start tomorrow, and I'm sure you all want a good night's sleep!"

Elizabeth headed on with the other first-year girls into the chamber to the right, which was round like the common room, with several round doors lining the walls. They found their room almost directly across from the common room and headed in, Elizabeth looking around to take in their room. It was large and spacious, and despite the underground feel, it was quite cozy. Five wooden four-poster beds were arranged along the curved walls. One on either side of the door, on the wall that curved outward, into the room. Three along the outer wall where the windows were, the wall that curved inward, into the wall. Elizabeth found her bed in the center one on the inward curved wall, with her trunk at the foot of it and Cream already curled up on the patchwork quilt covering the bed.

Stomachs heavy with food, and the excitement of finally being at Hogwarts winding down, everyone was quite tired. Elizabeth pulled her pajamas from her trunk and changed quickly, curling up in her bed and putting her glasses on her nightstand. Drawn in by the warmth of her covers and the soft purring of Cream, Elizabeth was asleep almost instantly.

**xxxxx**

As usual, Elizabeth was awake early. Faint sunlight was filtering down through the high, round windows just over Elizabeth's head on the walls. Still, Elizabeth went ahead and pushed on her glasses and got dressed. She brushed through her hair and pulled it back before pulling on her robes and heading into the common room. She wanted to get a better look at everything before classes began.

The common room was definitely homey and comfortable. The wood was polished and bright, the couches and chairs overstuffed and soft. Plants were hanging from the ceiling and even more were in alcoves around the walls. Elizabeth made her way over to the windows, leaning up on her toes to try and see out them better and found herself looking out at ground-level to the Hogwarts grounds outside. A light breeze was blowing, causing the grass to sway. It was a calming sight, really.

Elizabeth wondered when breakfast was served and if it was too early to head upstairs yet. Most likely. There were only a couple of other people awake now, a few students from upper years that Elizabeth didn't recognize, but they didn't seem to care about Elizabeth's exploring. It was probably a common thing for them to see. First years trying to take everything in.

Elizabeth pulled from the window and turned around just in time to see her brother and his friend coming from the boys' dormitories. Elizabeth grinned and waved and Lewis grinned back, coming over.

"Congratulations, Liz," Lewis said, "Knew you'd be in Hufflepuff."

"I'm glad that hat agreed," Elizabeth giggled, looking to Cedric, "Nice to see you again."

"Same here," Cedric said, then turned to Lewis, "Come on. We can go down to the field and get some practice in before Quidditch tryouts next week."

The two headed out and Elizabeth thought for a moment about going to watch. She loved flying, loved being on a broom. She even loved watching Quidditch, but she didn't really have any interest in wanting to play it herself.

Elizabeth decided instead to just go take a walk around the grounds before breakfast, enjoy some morning air. She headed outside, grinning as she looked around the grounds. They were quite the sight. The lake they'd crossed the night before was off to one side, and near the lake was a massive forest. There were a few courtyards, but also grassy areas with trees for shade, and off along the edge of the forest was a hut. She remembered Lewis telling her that Hagrid stayed there.

Elizabeth could also see the Quidditch pitch off in the distance. She went down towards it, stopping at the edge of the pitch and staring up. She could see Lewis and Cedric flying overhead, tossing a Quaffle back and forth.

'_I hope they both make the team this year,'_ Elizabeth thought. She remembered Lewis writing and saying he had done horribly at tryouts last year and had been practicing all summer for another go. Even during the week Cedric came to stay for a bit. Elizabeth had sat at her window and watched them out in the garden most of the time, but when they decided to have broom races, she joined in. She always lost miserably to them, though, but it was still fun.

Eventually, Elizabeth's stomach started growling and she was sure breakfast as being served by now, so she turned and headed back across the grounds to the castle. She could already hear voices inside the Great Hall and she made her way to the Hufflepuff table. She spotted Susan and Hannah sitting together, so she went over and sat with them.

"Morning," Elizabeth said with a grin, "Looking forward to classes starting?"

"I am," Hannah said with an eager nod, "Especially Defense Against the Dark Arts. They say Professor Quirrell took on a vampire in Romania single-handedly!"

"I heard he fought zombies in Africa," Susan added.

"I'm looking forward to Transfiguration, myself," Elizabeth said, "Mum's a natural at it, and she says it comes in really handy as a Healer."

"Look, there's Harry!" a fourth-year a little further down the table said in a whisper that carried down to the first years.

Elizabeth looked up eagerly, scanning people coming into the Great Hall.

"Do you see him?" Hannah asked, obviously looking for any sight of Harry as well.

"I think so, over near the tall kid with red hair?" Elizabeth replied, spotting the pair from the train. She watched as they went and sat across from each other at the Gryffindor table beside theirs.

"I wonder if he really has the scar..." Susan said, then smirked a little at Elizabeth, "I dare you to go talk to him."

"What?" Elizabeth asked, horrified, "No!"

"Come on, he's just right over there!"

Elizabeth glanced back over to the boys, biting on her lower lip.

"I'm just going over and saying hello, right?" she asked slowly.

"See if he really has the scar," Hannah said quickly.

Elizabeth groaned, but straightened her shoulders and went towards the Gryffindor table, stopping behind Harry. He didn't seem to notice her yet and she opened her mouth, then closed it again. What was she doing? She couldn't just walk up and talk to him.

"Do you need something?"

Elizabeth jumped a bit. The red-haired boy had looked up from the other side of the table. Which also meant that Harry had turned as well, looking over his shoulder at Elizabeth. He was staring at her.

Harry Potter was staring at her. And she was just standing there, looking like an idiot. She felt heat rush to her face, then she turned and hurried off to the Hufflepuff table as quickly as she could.

"Don't ever dare me to do something again," she said, her face still burning.

"You were pathetic," Susan said, giggling hard.

"Then you go talk to him!"

"Are you mental? Just go up and talk to Harry Potter?"

"Well, I'm glad you enjoyed me making a fool of myself," Elizabeth said, rolling her eyes as she got herself some bacon and toast as a plump woman was starting to pass out small pieces of parchment. Elizabeth guessed she was their Head of House, Professor Sprout. As she reached them, Elizabeth realized the parchment was their class schedules. She noticed they had Charms first, and then—Elizabeth let out a little squeak. They had Herbology. With Gryffindor.

The day before, she had been excited about the idea of having classes with The Boy Who Lived. Now, after making a fool of herself, she didn't want to face him again. Not after she'd just made such a fool of herself. She was not looking forward to Herbology.

First, however, she was going to have to get through Charms. She already knew magic was harder than it seemed, but now she was really getting to see that. Professor Flitwick, a small wizard who was even shorter than his own desk, was their teacher for the class and he began with a lecture on the importance of wand work and precise pronunciation when casting a spell. As if he somehow knew what Elizabeth had been practicing at home, he demonstrated this with _Wingardium Leviosa_, causing an empty chair from the back of the room to soar around over everyone's heads before being placed back down.

Unfortunately, they weren't going to be starting with practicing making things fly. Their first lesson involved one of the most simple charms, which involved making sparks fly from the end of the wand. Unsurprisingly, this was a lot easier said than done. There were only a few people who could get the right colored sparks to fly, and Elizabeth wasn't one of them. She kept getting feeble little gray sparks when she was supposed to be sending off bright blue ones. Flitwick assigned them reading the first chapter of their books as homework, then sent them on their way to Herbology. As they walked, Elizabeth kept her gaze on her bag, trying to get her book into it. It wasn't agreeing.

"Who knew Charms would be so hard?" Hannah asked with a sigh as they walked, "Mum always told me it was such an easy subject."

"I'm sure we'll get the hang of it soon," Susan said, patting Hannah on the shoulder, "We're just first years. We've got a long way ahead of us."

"A long way I don't think I'll catch on to," Elizabeth said with a sigh. If she couldn't even make sparks, how could she do proper spells? "All of th—oh for Merlin's sake!"

Her book had tumbled from her hand, though it had caught the edge of her bag and all of her books and parchment went falling to the floor.

"Oh no, Elizabeth," Susan said, knelling down next to her and Hannah.

"No, you two go," Elizabeth said, waving them off, "Don't be late for Herbology. Let Professor Sprout know what happened, please?"

"All right, if you're sure," Hannah said with a nod, standing up. Elizabeth grinned and waved them off again and the two girls headed on down the hall.

Elizabeth gave a sigh, starting to gather up her things. She heard footsteps coming down the corridor, but didn't look up until she saw someone kneeling out of the corner of her eye and picking up one of her books.

"Here you go," he said.

"Thanks," Elizabeth replied, taking the book and looking up. Then froze, her eyes widening.

Squatting next to her was Harry Potter.


	5. Chapter Five

_**Chapter Five:**_

"Th-thanks," Elizabeth said, yet again, as Harry and his friend helped Elizabeth get her things together and back in her bag. She couldn't help but keep staring at him. Harry Potter. Harry Potter had stopped to help her get her books up. She really should say something, shouldn't she? Yes, that's what she needed to do. Say something. Anything. Anything than just staring at him like an idiot.

"You're Harry Potter," Elizabeth blurted. She immediately wanted to smack herself. Very smooth.

Harry looked uncomfortable and Elizabeth felt confused. Did he not like the attention? He was famous. He should be used to this by now, shouldn't he? Though once she thought about it, she realized it probably was a little weird having strangers always know who you are...Yeah, that could definitely get awkward.

Awkward. Like a stranger staring at him. Like she was now. She was staring at Harry, just sitting there staring at him. She was apparently really bad at social interactions with famous people.

"Sorry," Elizabeth finally said, clearing her throat as they stood up and she gave Harry and awkward grin herself as she held out her hand, "I'm Elizabeth Martin."

There. A nice, normal greeting. Nice normal statement. Nothing awkward. Nothing embarrassing.

"Nice to meet you," Harry said, shaking Elizabeth's hand, then glanced to Ron, "This is Ron Weasley."

"Nice to meet you, too," Elizabeth said, grinning at Ron now. She should have guessed he was a Weasley. He was one of the group of redheads she always saw at the train station, "Um, I'm heading to Herbology too. Mind if we walk together?"

Why did she ask that? Did she just want to torture herself? Make a bigger fool of herself? Besides, why would Harry want to walk with her?

"Er, sure," Harry said, surprising Elizabeth so much she nearly dropped her bag again. She regained herself quickly, however, and the three started walking along. Elizabeth kept glancing at Harry, but the each time he looked more uncomfortable so Elizabeth tried to make herself stop. She thought again about apologizing, but then figured it'd only make things worse. Apologizing too much would definitely make things awkward. More awkward than they already were, anyway.

"So, I just came from Charms," Elizabeth said, trying to break the awkward silence, praying she wasn't going to embarrass herself again, "All of this is a lot harder than I thought it would be."

"We just came from History of Magic," Ron said with a slight grumble.

"Is it really taught by a ghost?" Elizabeth asked excitedly.

"Yeah, but it's not as exciting as it sounds," Harry said, "He's really dull and boring."

Elizabeth sighed at that. She'd never liked history much to begin with and had thought an interesting teacher might make her focus more. If what Harry said was true, though, she doubted she was going to do well in that class.

"I'm really eager for the Quidditch season to start," Elizabeth said, trying to keep some conversation going, "My brother's trying for the team, and I can't wait to see how the school matches go. I wonder if they're anything like professional."

"You follow Quidditch?" Ron asked eagerly, "Who's your team?"

"Montrose Magpies," Elizabeth said, motioning to the pin on her bag, "Yours?"

"Chudley Cannons," Ron replied and Elizabeth had to fight the urge to laugh. The Cannons were probably the worst Quidditch team in the league.

"You need a new team," Elizabeth said, "Five-year-olds could beat them."

"Hey, they're getting better!" Ron said, his ears going pink. Elizabeth did laugh this time, then turned to Harry.

"What about you? Who's your team?"

"I, er, don't have one," Harry said slowly, "I was raised by Muggles. I've never seen a Quidditch match before."

Elizabeth stared at Harry in disbelief. He'd never seen Quidditch? What type of Muggles were raising him? Probably complete monsters, if they never let him watch Quidditch. She didn't get a chance to ask, however, because they'd reached the greenhouse. As they walked in, Elizabeth saw everyone staring at Harry. Now that she was on this end of it, she could see why Harry found it so uncomfortable. She glanced towards Susan and Hannah, who were staring at her with wide eyes and she grinned and waved to them before sitting at a table with Harry and Ron.

It seemed the chance meeting in the hallway quickly developed into a friendship. Over the next week, Elizabeth spent her time in classes and in the common room after curfew with Susan and Hannah, though outside of classes, Elizabeth was always found around Harry and Ron. Elizabeth slowly lost her awkwardness around them, and stopped constantly trying to figure out what to say. Being around Harry and Ron became normal. They spent their time exploring the castle, trying to find their way around. All the while, hey shared stories about their class experiences. Especially their opinions on the staff.

Filch was one they all agreed was a horrible person. He seemed to stalk the halls, just waiting for students to make a mistake. Even worse was his cat, Mrs. Norris, who seemed to have some sort of radar for trouble. She always seemed to show up, and then Filch would always be close behind.

They all agreed they didn't really believe Professor Quirrell was fit for teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, or that he'd actually done anything that they'd heard about from him. He was nervous and jumpy and was constantly stuttering in the lessons. Though they did quite like both Professor Sprout and Professor Flitwick, once they compared notes after Harry and Ron had their first Charms class.

They had varying opinions on Professor McGonagall, who taught Transfiguration. Harry and Ron thought she was very strict and wish she'd go easier on the Gryffindors, as she was their Head of House. Elizabeth, however, thought that it was necessary and Transfiguration had quickly become her favorite class. Even with the fact all she'd managed to do with her matchsticks in the first lesson was turn them slightly gray.

The first Thursday of their lessons, Elizabeth had one class she wasn't looking forward to after all the rumors she'd heard.

Potions with Professor Snape.

The class was shared with the Ravenclaws and was after lunch. When Elizabeth, Susan, and Hannah found the dungeon classroom, Elizabeth was already uncomfortable. Unlike the Hufflepuff basements, these rooms were dark and gloomy. Creepy figures sat in jars along the walls, and Elizabeth felt jittery and uneasy. There was no views of outside here, no bright lights to make the room feel bigger. It was all dark and enclosed.

"You okay, Elizabeth?" Hannah asked softly.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Elizabeth said. She'd just concentrate on their work. No big deal. Focus on class, not the classroom.

"Settle down, students."

Elizabeth looked up to see a tall man in black robes, with long, greasy black hair came into the room. When he turned around, Elizabeth fidgeted a little at the stern look on his face, the dark, cold eyes. She could easily see he wasn't a nice man.

Her instinct, for once, proved right. The class was a nightmare. He barked orders, hovered at every cauldron, criticized every little detail. He even docked points from a Ravenclaw student who didn't stir his cauldron the right number of times. When the class was over, Elizabeth was far too eager to get out of the classroom, both because of the dark, enclosed space and because of the teacher.

Elizabeth had managed the first two days to stay at her own table during meals, but by the third she found herself sitting between Ron and Harry during mealtimes. She stayed at the edge of a seat, however, to dart back over to the Hufflepuff table whenever a teacher was coming. Susan and Hannah thought this was hilarious, though they helped keep a place clear for Elizabeth anyway. The day after her Potions class was one such meal, when Elizabeth saw Harry and Ron already at the Gryffindor table and she went over, sitting between them.

"Morning, boys," she said, "What's your schedule today?"

"Double Potions with the Slytherins," Ron said, "Snape's Head of Slytherin House. They say he always favors them—"

"I wouldn't be surprised if he does," Elizabeth said, taking a piece of toast, "I had Potions yesterday, with Ravenclaw. Professor Snape is a nightmare. He'll dock points if you so much as sneeze too loudly."

"Great," Ron muttered sarcastically.

Mail arrived then, hundreds of owls swooping overhead. Elizabeth saw her family's owl swooping towards her and she took the letter from her mother. She tucked it in her bag to read later, and watched Harry's snowy owl, Hedwig, drop a rolled piece of parchment on his plate. Harry took it and read over it quickly, taking a quill and writing on the back of the parchment before sending Hedwig off again.

"Hagrid wants me to come down to his hut for tea after classes," he said.

"Hagrid? The groundskeeper?" Elizabeth asked cautiously.

"Yeah, he's really nice," Harry said, "He helped me get my school stuff in Diagon Alley."

"Can we come too?" Ron asked eagerly.

Harry agreed and Elizabeth wasn't so sure about going, but she thought if Harry liked Hagrid, he couldn't be so bad. She headed off from the table, however, because she was due for History of Magic next while Harry and Ron went down to Potions. As she walked, Elizabeth couldn't help but think about how differently she saw Harry, and how it only took a week to change her mind. Before coming to Hogwarts, Elizabeth saw Harry as "The Boy Who Lived". He was the hero who stopped He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Now, however, he was just Harry. A fellow student and her friend. He was just as normal as she was. It'd been hard to imagine at first, but now it was just a fact.

Elizabeth went through her daily lessons as usual, chatting with Susan and Hanna when she could. At lunch, she caught up with Harry and Ron to find out how Potions went and she wasn't surprised at all to learn it went badly for them. Harry told her Snape had singled him out for questions, then docked points when he couldn't answer. He had also docked points again when someone else had messed up their potion.

When classes were over for the day, Elizabeth met up with Harry and Ron in the entrance hall, near the four hourglasses that showed the House Points. They quickly made their way across the grounds to the little hut by the forest. Harry knocked on the door and Elizabeth could hear barking from the other side, followed by someone calling back the dog. Soon, however, Hagrid had answered the door and ushered them inside.

Elizabeth felt a bit nervous, glancing at Hagrid as she followed Harry and Ron inside, looking around at the one-room home. There was a bed to the back, a kitchen area, and what looked like some type of birds hanging from the ceiling with some hams. Elizabeth saw a large dog run forward, practically knocking Ron on his back. She stepped away, finding herself half-stepping behind Harry.

Ron groaned, trying to push the dog off him. Elizabeth noticed the dog—Fang—was licking Ron's ears and she grinned a little. He wasn't so bad. Maybe Hagrid was the same. He looked intimidating but he really wasn't. Elizabeth sat down in one of the oversized chairs as Harry introduced them. Hagrid laughed and told Ron how he was often chasing his older brothers—twins, apparently—from the forest.

As they talked, Elizabeth realized she was right earlier to misjudge Hagrid. He really was a nice person, even agreed with them on their opinions of some of the staff. Especially Filch. Elizabeth realized she really needed to stop judging people on assumptions. She'd been wrong every time so far.

"We just had Potions this morning," Harry was saying, "Professor Snape seemed to have it out for me. He kept taking points for no reason."

"I wouldn' worry 'bout it," Hagrid said, "Snape rarely likes any student."

"But he seems to really hate me."

"Rubbish! Why should he?" Hagrid turned to Ron, "How's yer brother Charlie? I liked him a lot—great with animals."

Elizabeth was slowly learning that Ron had several siblings. The eldest was Bill, then Charlie, Percy, who was currently the Gryffindor Prefect, and then the twins Fred and George. Ron was the sixth child, and after him was the only daughter, his younger sister Ginny. Elizabeth barely could handle one big brother. She couldn't imagine having five.

"Hagrid! That Gringotts break-in happened on my birthday!" Harry said and Elizabeth noticed he was looking at an article in the _Daily Prophet_ Hagrid had, "It might have happened while we were there!"

Hagrid didn't respond, instead offering them another cake that Elizabeth couldn't eat. The things were as hard as rocks and nearly broke her teeth trying to bite into the first one. Once they left for dinner, Elizabeth looked at Harry.

"You were at Gringotts the day it was robbed?" she asked.

"Yeah," Harry said with a nod, "Hagrid took me to get money for shopping, and we stopped at another vault first. Hagrid took some sort of small package from it."

"I wonder if that was the vault that got robbed..." Elizabeth said, "Hagrid could have saved the package just in time!"

"I'm wondering the same thing."

"I don't think it's any of our business," Ron said, "Whatever was in that package, it's safe now, wherever it is. Let's go eat, I'm starving."

Elizabeth and Harry glanced at each other, but decided to drop the subject as they reached the Great Hall, eager for food that wouldn't break their teeth when they tried to eat it.


	6. Chapter Six

_**Chapter Six:**_

The next week passed as normally as the first, with one exception: Flying lessons started. Elizabeth stood out on the field with her fellow Hufflepuffs, as well as the first year Ravenclaws, waiting for the lesson to start.

"Welcome, students, to your first flying lesson," Madam Hooch said, walking between the groups. Her yellow eyes were focused on each student in turn as she walked and Elizabeth felt a little uncomfortable. She glanced to Hannah beside her, who was a bit pale. No matter what Elizabeth or Susan said, they couldn't seem to calm Hannah down and get her to believe the lessons would be fine.

"Now, everyone line up at a broom," Madam Hooch ordered and Elizabeth was quick to follow that order. She stood by the broom, looking between Susan and Hannah on either side of her. She wasn't nervous herself. She'd been on a broom before, after all.

Elizabeth followed every instruction, though it took her several times to final get her broom to come up to her hand. The broom itself was quite old. It had a split in the handle and several of the straws in the tail were missing.

"These things don't look that safe," Susan whispered next to Elizabeth.

"I don't think the school would use them if they were dangerous," Elizabeth whispered back.

"Quiet over there, pay attention," Madam Hooch said and Elizabeth jumped, turning back to the teacher.

Madam Hooch continued to instruct them through proper broom riding. Elizabeth slowly realized the way she'd always ridden a broom was completely wrong. The way she sat on it, the way she gripped the handle, the way she was supposed to turn...Madam Hooch had to correct Elizabeth three times because she couldn't quite seem to get the right grip. Each time, Elizabeth felt her face grow more and more red.

They went through simple exercises, hovering off the ground a few minutes at first. Then going a short distance forward before landing again. Lastly, they were to fly in a circle around the yard, always staying close to the ground. Elizabeth was shaky at first, trying to get used to the correct way to sit and grip the broom. By the end of the lesson, though, she'd gotten the hang of it.

"That wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it'd be," Hannah said as they started up the grounds back to the castle once the lesson was over, "It was actually quite fun."

"It was," Elizabeth said, "Especially learning some new tips for flying. I had no idea there was a specific way to grip the broom! No wonder I've never been able to beat my brother in a race."

"I can't wait for the next practice," Susan said as they passed a group of first-year Slytherins heading for their lesson. Elizabeth noticed Malfoy among them, but ignored him.

"I can't wait to hear how Harry and Ron's lesson goes," Elizabeth said as they turned to head down to their common room. Gryffindor had their lesson with Slytherin right after theirs, so Elizabeth was going to spend the time in the Hufflepuff common room, catching up on some homework.

"I still can't believe you're actually friends with them," Susan said, tapping the correct wine barrel and opening the passage to their common room.

"I told you before, Susan, Harry's as normal as we are," Elizabeth said, sitting down at one of the tables and pulling out her Transfiguration assignment, "Lewis says the Hufflepuff tryouts are this weekend. He's really nervous about them. I'm thinking about going down to cheer him on."

"Watching the Quidditch tryouts sounds like fun," Susan said, "Count me in."

"Why watch just the tryouts?" Hannah asked, "I'd rather wait until the actual match."

Talk of Quidditch and their chances in the Quidditch Cup lasted the entire time they worked on their homework. When it was time for dinner, the three headed upstairs and Elizabeth found herself looking for Harry and Ron as she went into the Great Hall. She felt her stomach suddenly tighten when she noticed Ron was sitting alone. Harry was nowhere in sight. Was he hurt during their lessons?

"I'll see you later," Elizabeth told Susan and Hannah, heading over to the Gryffindor table and sitting next to Ron, "Where's Harry? What happened?"

"Malfoy," Ron said bitterly, stabbing at his steak and kidney pie. Elizabeth glared over towards the Slytherin table where she saw the blond boy sitting between two larger first years whom Elizabeth remembered from the Sorting were Crabbe and Goyle.

"What did he do? Is Harry okay?" Elizabeth asked, turning back to Ron.

"Neville got hurt during the lesson and had to be taken to the hospital wing," Ron said, "And he left his Remembrall. Malfoy had grabbed it and Harry tried to get it back. Madam Hooch wasn't there, so we weren't supposed to get on our brooms, but Malfoy took the Remembrall up in the air. Harry chased him and Malfoy threw the Remembrall. Harry managed to catch it, I think, but Professor McGonagall saw him."

"He's been expelled?" Elizabeth asked weakly, her eyes widening.

"Not yet," Harry's voice came and Elizabeth looked up quickly to see Harry sitting across from them with a grin.

"You're not expelled?" Ron asked excitedly, "But, Professor McGonagall. I saw her face. I was sure she was going to expel you!"

"Actually, she took me to talk with Oliver Wood," Harry said, then leaned forward, dropping his voice to a whisper, "I'm going to be the new Gryffindor Seeker."

"_What_?" Elizabeth asked in shock at the same time Ron went "You're joking!"

"First years aren't allowed on the teams!" Elizabeth said, "Lewis wasn't even allowed to try out for the Hufflepuff team his first year!"

"You must be the youngest House player in about—"

"A century," Harry finished for Ron, already eating on a plate of food, "Wood told me. I start training next week. Only don't tell anyone, Wood wants to keep it a secret."

"Oh, I wouldn't miss the look on my brother's face for anything," Elizabeth said, "If he gets on the team, the look on his face when he finds out he's playing against a first year..."

Elizabeth noticed identical redheads had come over. Their similarities to Ron, she was sure these two were Fred and George.

"Well done," one of them said, "Wood told us. We're on the team too—Beaters."

"I tell you, we're going to win that Quidditch Cup for sure this year," the other said, "We haven't won since Charlie left, but this year's team is going to be brilliant. You must be good, Harry, Wood was almost skipping when he told us."

'_Well, it takes more than just a new talent to win at Quidditch,'_ Elizabeth thought, pursing her lips a little. She was too nervous to say so at a table full of Gryffindors, however.

Fred and George headed off and they'd barely disappeared out the door when Malfoy had showed up with his lackeys, Crabbe and Goyle.

"Having a last meal, Potter? When are you getting the train back to the Muggles?"

"You're a lot braver now that you're back on the ground and you've got your little friends with you," Harry shot back.

Elizabeth glared at Malfoy, watching the exchange. So far, she'd only heard about what he'd done second-hand from Harry and Ron. This was the first time she was encountering him herself.

"I'd take you on anytime on my own," Malfoy said, "Tonight, if you want. Wizard's duel. Wands only—no contact."

Elizabeth's eyes widened a little. A wizard's duel? That was a dangerous thing to be messing with. People died in duels.

"What's the matter?" Malfoy asked with a mocking smirk, "Never heard of a wizard's duel before, I suppose?"

"Of course he has," Ron said, "I'm his second, who's yours?"

"Crabbe," Malfoy answered, glancing at his friends before looking back to the others, "Midnight all right? We'll meet you in the trophy room; that's always unlocked."

Malfoy left without and answer and Elizabeth spun on Ron, a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach.

"What're you thinking?" she asked, "People _die_ in duels!"

"Die?" Harry's voice cracked and he looked sick.

"People only die in proper duels," Ron said with a shrug, though Elizabeth didn't think this made it any better, "The most you and Malfoy'll be able to do is send sparks at each other. Neither of you knows enough magic to do any real damage. I bet he expected you to refuse, anyway."

"And what if I wave my wand and noting happens?"

"Throw it away and punch him on the nose."

"Excuse me," came a new voice. Elizabeth looked up and groaned slightly as she realized Hermione had come over. Her gaze went to Elizabeth and narrowed, "This is the Gryffindor table. You shouldn't be over here."

"I'm not eating, I'm just talking to my friends," Elizabeth shot back. Even though that was a lie. She often ate at the Gryffindor table. The look Hermione gave her showed she didn't believe it, but she turned her attention back to Harry.

"I couldn't help but overhearing what you and Malfoy were saying—"

"Bet you could," Ron muttered and Elizabeth couldn't help but agree. From what she heard, Hermione loved sticking her nose into everyone else's business.

"—and you _mustn't_ go wandering around the school at night," Hermione went on as if Ron hadn't spoken, "Think of all the points you'll lose Gryffindor if you're caught, and you're bound to be. It's really selfish of you."

"And it's really none of your business," Harry said.

"Yeah, good bye," Ron added.

Hermione looked furious and turned on the spot, marching off. Elizabeth watched her go and, as much as she hated to admit it...

"She does have a point," she said slowly.

"What?" Ron and Harry asked, staring at Elizabeth.

"No, not that you shouldn't go," Elizabeth went on quickly, "You definitely should. Someone should put Malfoy in his place. But...It really is a bit dangerous, sneaking around at night isn't it? Promise you'll be careful?"

She still had that knotted feeling in the pit of her stomach. She couldn't really explain it, but it just wouldn't go away.

"Elizabeth, teacher," Ron said suddenly.

Elizabeth looked up to see one of the teachers coming over and she darted over to the Hufflepuff table, sitting between Hannah and Susan. She glanced back over her shoulder and exchanged a look with Harry and Ron and it was clear they were thinking the same thing she was. Hermione had left in the direction of the staff table. She probably told them that Elizabeth wasn't sitting with her House like she should.

'_Why can't Hermione just mind her own business?'_ Elizabeth thought as she turned back around, joining into the conversation with Hannah and Susan.

After dinner, Elizabeth stopped long enough to wish Harry and Ron luck that night. She still couldn't seem to shake that odd feeling nagging at her, but she just kept ignoring it as she went with the Hufflepuffs to their common room. Elizabeth made the excuse that she was tired and went on to their dormitory and changed to her pajamas, crawling into bed and staring at the ceiling. She really hoped everything would go well for Harry and Ron tonight. That they'd get to the trophy room and Harry'd beat Malfoy easily at the duel.

Elizabeth rolled over onto her side and closed her eyes, trying desperately to get to sleep. Unfortunately, that sinking feeling she kept having kept her up with worry. Worry that Hermione was right. That they'd get caught and get in trouble...She just hoped and prayed that at breakfast the next morning, Harry and Ron would still be there...

Elizabeth didn't sleep at all that night and had no idea how she was going to make it through her classes on no sleep. It was a massive relief for her when she walked into the Great Hall and saw Harry and Ron sitting at the Gryffindor table still. She grinned and started for them, then noticed Hermione nearby watching her closely. Elizabeth stopped, looked back to Harry and Ron and mouthed 'tell me later', then went over to the Hufflepuff table.

With classes, Elizabeth didn't get a chance to talk to Harry and Ron until before dinner that afternoon. Friday afternoons were free, so the three of them went out to the grounds, sitting by the lake.

"So, what happened?" Elizabeth asked, "How'd it go?"

"Malfoy never showed up," Harry said.

"The coward thought he could get us expelled," Ron added, "Filch and Mrs. Norris were there waiting for us."

"That little git," Elizabeth hissed, "Bet it was quite a surprise when he saw you were still here."

Though she couldn't help but think about that odd feeling she'd kept having. And then it turned out Harry and Ron ran into trouble. It had to just be a coincidence. Hermione had filled her head with the idea that Harry and Ron would get into trouble. That was the only reason she had that odd feeling.

"But that's not the best part," Harry said with a grin, "When we were escaping from Filch, we ended up in the third floor corridor."

"What?" Elizabeth leaned forward, staring at her friends with wide eyes, "You did? What was in there? Why's it so dangerous?"

"There's a giant, three-headed dog in there!" Ron said excitedly.

Elizabeth's eyes widened and she stared at her friends in shock. A giant dog? With three heads? They were lucky to be alive and Elizabeth found herself very lucky she hadn't been along.

"It's guarding something, too," Harry said, "I'm betting it's what was in that vault that Hagrid took from Gringotts. He told me that Hogwarts is the only place safer than Gringotts. What if he brought it here, and that's what that dog is guarding?"

"It's either got to be really valuable or really dangerous," Ron said.

"Or both," Elizabeth added.

"Unfortunately, there's no way to find out what it is," Harry said, "All I remember was the thing was really small. It could fit in a pocket."

"What we need now, is to find a way to get back at Malfoy," Elizabeth said, "He tried to get you expelled twice in one day."

A chance for that came the following week. The whole time, Elizabeth was keeping to eating at the Hufflepuff table, not wanting to risk Hermione ratting her out again. Though when the mail came, Elizabeth noticed several owls carrying one long package between them, and the owls landed in front of Harry. Elizabeth didn't care about trouble then. She got up and headed over to the Gryffindor table, just as Harry was opening the letter with it. Elizabeth leaned over Harry's shoulder to read and her eyes widened.

The note said the package had a Nimbus Two Thousand in it. The best racing broom there was. It definitely beat Elizabeth's Comet Two Sixty back home.

Harry grabbed the package and the three hurried out of the Great Hall. Elizabeth was eager for them to find an empty classroom to get the broom unwrapped before their classes started for the day.

To Elizabeth's delight, Malfoy was at the stairs as they reached them. She couldn't wait to rub this in Malfoy's face. Especially after he snatched the package from Harry and examined it.

"That's a broomstick, Potter," Malfoy said, looking both envious and triumphant, "You'll be in for it this time. First years aren't allowed them."

"It's the best broomstick there is," Elizabeth said with a smirk, "A Nimbus Two Thousand!"

"How would you know about it, Martin?" Malfoy shot back, "You wouldn't know a good racing broom if it danced in front of you."

Elizabeth's face flushed brightly, but none of them could respond as Professor Flitwick had started coming down the stairs.

"Not arguing, I hope?" he asked with a grin.

"Potter's been sent a broomstick, Professor," Malfoy said in a very fast voice, obviously far too eager to get Harry into trouble.

"Yes, yes, that's right. Professor McGonagall told me all about the special circumstances, Potter. What model is it?"

Malfoy looked horrified, staring between them. Elizabeth couldn't help but grin herself. She loved seeing Malfoy being put in his place.

"A Nimbus Two Thousand, sir," Harry said, "And it's really thanks to Malfoy here that I've got it."

Malfoy looked even more enraged, and also very confused as Harry, Ron, and Elizabeth hurried up the stairs, laughing amongst themselves.

"Well, it's true," Harry said, "If he hadn't stolen Neville's Remembrall I wouldn't be on the team."

"So I suppose you think that's a reward for breaking rules?"

Elizabeth turned to see Hermione had appeared, looking angry.

"I thought you weren't speaking to us?" Harry asked.

"Yes, don't stop now. It's doing us so much good," Ron added.

Hermione flushed and stomped off. Elizabeth couldn't help but think it was good riddance. How anyone could put up with that girl was beyond her.

"Here," Harry said quickly, ducking into a nearby room. Ron and Elizabeth quickly followed. Harry spread the broom out on the table nearby and quickly unwrapped it and Elizabeth's eyes widened at the sight.

The broom was amazing. She'd seen it in display shops at Diagon Alley, but in person was completely different. She was almost afraid to reach out and touch it, not wanting to smudge the smooth polish of the handle, where "Nimbus Two Thousand" was written in a looping, gold print.

A bell rang overhead and Elizabeth jumped, turning to Harry and Ron.

"We'd better get to class," she said.

"Yeah, I'll get this up to our room," Harry said with a look at Ron before hurrying off. Elizabeth and Ron followed before Elizabeth went off in another direction to head in to her History of Magic class.


	7. Chapter Seven

_**Chapter Seven:**_

October came far too quickly for Elizabeth. The weather began cooling, the leaves changing colors. Elizabeth soon found herself in a normal routine. She spent classes with Susan and Hannah, and free time with Harry and Ron. For about a week after Hufflepuff tryouts, she was also avoiding her brother, as he hadn't made the team again this year and he was often in an ill mood for it.

Hermione still wasn't talking to any of them, much to Elizabeth, Harry, and Ron's delight. The girl was annoying and acted more like one of the teachers, constantly lecturing everyone else. She also made it difficult for Elizabeth to talk with Harry and Ron during meals, because she often felt Hermione watching her. Like she was waiting for an excuse to get them into trouble.

As the time rolled on, Elizabeth also learned that there were some classes she was pretty good at—Transfiguration, for example—and others she was quite horrid with—well, maybe not horrid. But she was sure she was just scraping by in Defense Against the Dark Arts.

The Monday before Halloween brought Elizabeth the Charms class she'd been waiting for. They were finally going to start practicing _Wingardium Leviosa_.

Charms was a class Elizabeth struggled a little in. She wasn't as bad at it as Defense Against the Dark Arts, but she never caught onto the spell within the first few practices, like many of the others did. Today was proving no different. Elizabeth had been paired with Justin, a Muggleborn Hufflepuff she talked to now and then, and the two had their wands out, trying to levitate the feathers in front of them.

Elizabeth, however, was having just as much luck as she did with the rock on her bed before she came to Hogwarts. No matter what she did, the feather never budged.

"Come on you stupid thing," Elizabeth muttered, poking at the feather, "_Wingardium Leviosa!_"

Rodger nearby had leaned forward at his desk, blowing at his feather to make it float off the desk. Professor Flitwick wasn't at all amused by this, though it did make Elizabeth and Sally-Anne laugh, especially when Professor Flitwick started giving Rodger a lecture.

That, at least, improved Elizabeth's mood a little by the end of class, despite the fact she'd still yet to make the feather float.

Elizabeth woke up on Halloween to the smell of food cooking. It made her stomach growl, and she learned from Lewis during breakfast that the Hufflepuff common room was actually near the kitchens. They got strong smells of the feast long before they actually happened. Elizabeth made a note that this could be a bad thing. Hufflepuffs would all be starving before they even got to breakfast. The smell stayed through the castle all day, and it definitely had an effect on Elizabeth. She kept having an odd feeling in the pit of her stomach all day long, which she was sure her stomach's way of telling her that it wanted to enjoy whatever it was she kept smelling.

Elizabeth bumped into Harry and Ron in the halls after their final class, so they decided to walk down to dinner together.

"So, how was your Charms class?" Elizabeth asked.

"Miserable," Ron replied, "None of us could get it right, except Hermione. She kept showing off."

"She's never going to make any friends like that," Elizabeth said, rolling her eyes, though she immediately regretted it when they passed a pair of girls who mentioned Hermione had shut herself up in an upstairs bathroom and was crying. Elizabeth almost asked if they should go talk to Hermione, but they'd entered the Great Hall then and Elizabeth stopped short, staring up above them.

Since lunch, the Great Hall had been decorated for Halloween. Dozens of floating jack-o-lanterns were overhead, as well as thousands of bats, swooping to and fro. Elizabeth wondered what would happen if one of those bats landed in someone's plate.

"I'm starving," Elizabeth said, looking at Harry and Ron, "See you in the morning!"

She turned, heading for the Hufflepuff table. She'd only just sat down next to Hannah, though, when the doors burst open and Professor Quirrell came barging into the Great Hall, looking terrified. He was yelling about a troll before he passed out between two of the tables.

Elizabeth felt a wave of fear, her eyes widening as she looked around. She just barely caught glimpse of her brother's face when loud pops echoed through the room and Elizabeth turned to Professor Dumbledore, who'd risen to his feet. The Hall fell quiet as quickly as the uproar had started.

"Prefects, lead your Houses back to the dormitories immediately!" he called.

Elizabeth was on her feet, starting along with the Hufflepuffs. They'd just made it out of the Great Hall and Elizabeth was starting to push her way to her brother when she felt someone grab her arm. She turned to see Harry and Ron had split form the Gryffindors.

"Hermione doesn't know about the troll," Harry whispered, "We've got to warn her."

Elizabeth nodded at once. She might not like Hermione, but she didn't want the girl to come face to face with a troll on her own. The three ducked from the crowd, Elizabeth hoping her brother wouldn't notice her missing for a while. As they were making their way down one corridor, they heard footsteps approaching and ducked into an alcove with a large statue. Slowly, the three peeked around the edges of the statue and were surprised to see Professor Snape hurrying down the corridor and disappearing around a corner. Elizabeth couldn't help but think that was definitely strange...

"What's he doing?" Harry whispered, "Why isn't he down in the dungeons with the rest of the teachers?"

"I have no idea," Elizabeth whispered, edging out from behind the statue and creeping down the corridor, "This way leads to the third floor."

"Can you smell something?" Ron asked suddenly. Just as he did, Elizabeth was hit with a smell that made her want to gag. It turned her stomach, sending an odd feeling through her that just seemed to make her feel sick.

Loud, echoing footsteps were approaching now. Much too noisy to be a teacher, or even Hagrid. It was accompanied by the sound of grunts and something dragging along the ground. Elizabeth immediately ducked into another alcove with Harry and Ron, and just in time, too. Coming along the corridor was a troll. A full-grown, twelve-foot-tall troll. Elizabeth had heard so many stories about trolls, but it was something else entirely actually seeing one. It was absolutely terrifying.

Elizabeth watched, transfixed, as the troll moved down the corridor, pausing momentarily by a door before ducking through into the room.

"The keys in the lock. We could lock it in," Harry whispered.

Elizabeth nodded slowly, her heart racing in her chest. Sneaking up on a troll seemed like the stupidest idea ever, but if it kept others safe...

The three slowly edged forward, as quietly as they could. Elizabeth's heart raced more and more, so sure the troll would turn and see them at any moment...

Harry leapt forward, shoving the door shut with a loud slam and turned the key in the lock.

"We did it!" Elizabeth said excitedly with a relieved laugh, "Well, Harry did it."

The three laughed, then took off down the hallway. Elizabeth suddenly felt her stomach tighten and stumbled to a stop as a realization dawned on her. A second later, a loud scream echoed behind them.

"That was the girl's bathroom!" Elizabeth said in a high voice.

"Hermione!" Ron and Harry chorused, racing back down the hall.

"I'll go find a teacher!" Elizabeth called after them, hurrying off down the stairs to the dungeon. She knew there would be teachers down that way. They thought the troll was there...

Loud crashes were echoing upstairs and Elizabeth quickened her step, staking the stairs two at a time. She didn't want to stop to think about what those crashes meant, or the odd way her stomach was churning and tightening into knots over and over.

Elizabeth rounded a corner and nearly ran straight into Professor McGonagall, who was coming from the other way with Professor Quirrell. When the Transfiguration teacher saw Elizabeth, her face went tense, her mouth thinning. Elizabeth suddenly wished she had chosen to take on the troll in the bathroom with Harry and Ron.

"Miss Martin!" Professor McGonagall said, her voice high and sharp, "What in the world are you doing out here? You should be in the common room!"

Elizabeth stared, breathing hard and for a moment, her mind was blank. The angry look on Professor McGonagall's face was absolutely terrifying...Then, she heard a crash, and she looked over her shoulder, suddenly remembering her friends were fighting a troll.

"Upstairs!" Elizabeth said, her own voice high as she spun back to the teachers, "The troll! Upstairs, in a bathroom!"

"We'll take care of it," Professor McGonagall said, "Head back to your common room at once, Miss Martin. Five points from Hufflepuff."

"But—"

"Now, Miss Martin, before I make it ten!"

Professor McGonagall hurried off with Professor Quirrell and Elizabeth stared after them. She didn't even get a chance to warn about Harry, Ron, and Hermione up there. She heard another crash and for a second, she almost ran to follow, to make sure they were okay. Then, she remembered Professor McGonagall's livid look and shrank back instinctively. She'd have to talk to Harry and Ron tomorrow. She'd find out then what happened.

Oddly, as she turned and headed down the stairs, the knot in her stomach loosened. It didn't stop her worrying about her friends, though. She barely even remembered making it to the Hufflepuff common room and letting herself inside, where she noticed everyone was gathered around with plates of food. Apparently, the feast was continuing here.

"Where the bloody hell have you been?!"

Elizabeth jumped and spun around to see her brother behind her. Professor McGonagall's anger had absolutely nothing against her brother's livid face. Elizabeth instantly made a mad dash for the dormitories, but her brother caught up with her and blocked her path.

"Don't even think about it, Elizabeth," Lewis said sharply. He rarely used her full name. Only when he was really angry. Like now.

"I...I can explain?" Elizabeth tried weakly.

"Didn't you hear there was a troll loose?!" Lewis yelled and Elizabeth felt herself turning red, keenly aware that people were turning and staring, "What were you thinking?! That you could go fight it on your own?!"

"Lewis, please—"

"Give me one good reason why I shouldn't write Mum about what you did!"

"If you'd stop yelling I will!" Elizabeth said, her voice high and squeaking. She kept looking around at where everyone was staring. Her face was burning hot and she wanted nothing more than to hide.

Lewis seemed to realize they were attracting stares as well, because he grunted and headed to a corner of the room. Elizabeth pondered taking off into the dormitories and to safety, but she knew if she did that, Lewis would just write home immediately. So instead, Elizabeth followed her brother, thinking she could at least explain herself. Maybe he'd understand.

Once away from everyone—though Elizabeth could still feel their stares—she explained to Lewis everything in a whisper. Well, not everything. She left out how they had locked Hermione into a bathroom with the troll. Instead, she told him how she, Harry, and Ron had heard Hermione had been in the bathrooms. Then when they heard about the troll, they realized Hermione didn't know and went to warn her. How they saw the troll, and Elizabeth went to find a teacher, how she ran into Professors McGonagall and Quirrell. And then coming back to the common room. As she talked, she noticed Lewis's face changing. His hard expression was softening and Elizabeth felt herself relaxing.

"Well, I guess that's a good reason not to write Mum," Lewis said slowly, "But that doesn't excuse what you did. I'm going to keep an eye on you."

Lewis turned and walked off, and Elizabeth stared after him, then shook her head and went to get something to eat, suddenly feeling like she was starving. However, she wasn't wanting to deal with the stares of Housemates, so she took her plate and went off to the girls' dormitories.


	8. Chapter Eight

_**Chapter Eight:**_

When Elizabeth went to breakfast the next morning, she was relieved to see Harry and Ron looked unharmed. Though the relief immediately turned to shock when she saw Hermione was sitting with Harry and Ron. She slowly went over to the table, looking between them.

"Er, is it safe to sit down?" she asked cautiously.

"Don't worry, Hermione's fine," Harry said, "She actually kept us out of trouble last night."

"You did?" Elizabeth asked, staring at Hermione as she sunk down in a seat beside Harry. Hermione's face went a bit pink.

"Harry and Ron saved me from the troll, they knocked it out with its own club," Hermione said, "Professor McGonagall showed up with Professors Quirrell and Snape—"

"I ran into Professors McGonagall and Quirrell when I went to find a teacher," Elizabeth said, "I guess Professor Snape came from the other direction."

"Maybe," Hermione said, "But they saw what had happened, and..." Hermione's face went pink again.

"She told them she went looking for the troll herself," Harry said, "And that we were trying to stop her. It was brilliant."

Elizabeth looked over at Hermione. For her to do that, to stand up and take the fall for boys who hated her...It seemed, yet again, Elizabeth's first instinct of someone was wrong. She really needed to learn to stop jumping to conclusions about people.

"Well, I'm glad you're all safe," Elizabeth said with a grin.

As the week went on, Elizabeth found herself glad that Hermione was now their friend. Though the girl was one to lecture and act like a know-it-all, somehow Elizabeth didn't find it as annoying anymore. Maybe because Hermione was using it to check over their homework now and then.

The first Quidditch match of the year was approaching as well, though Elizabeth cared more about seeing Harry play and having Slytherin lose. She probably would have been more excited if it were Hufflepuffs playing.

The day before the match, Elizabeth was spending a break in the courtyard with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. The weather was getting colder and Hermione had summoned a small blue fire in a jar for them to warm themselves at. Though they all had to huddle closer to hide it when they noticed Snape coming. As he got closer, Elizabeth noticed he was limping.

"What's that you've got there, Potter?" Snape demanded as he approached them. Harry silently held up a copy of _Quidditch Through the Ages_, which Snape immediately snatched away. "Library books are not to be taken outside the school. Five points from Gryffindor."

"That's not a rule," Elizabeth said as Snape headed off, "I hope that leg's hurting him."

After classes that day, the four met up in the library. Now with Hermione's help, Elizabeth was starting to do better in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Charms, however, she was still struggling in. She could only just barely make her quill float off the table by an inch.

While they were working, Harry said he was going to try and get his book back. Elizabeth thought it was a lost cause, but didn't say so, grabbing her quill once it fell and turned back to her homework.

Harry wasn't gone long, however, before he came darting back into the library, sitting down with his face pale.

"Harry? What's wrong?" Elizabeth asked, putting down her quill.

"I...Snape," Harry whispered, leaning forward, "When I got to the staffroom, I opened the door a bit and saw Snape. Filch was with him, bandaging his leg. He was talking about how it was hard to keep an eye on all three heads at once. You know what this means? He tried to get past that three-headed dog at Halloween! That's where he was going when we saw him—he's after whatever it's guarding! And I'd bet my broomstick _he_ let that troll in, to make a diversion!"

Elizabeth sat up straighter.

"You could be right!" she said, "And I'd bet the only reason he ended up at the bathroom after you fought the troll was because he ran into the other teachers and they told him to come!"

"He wouldn't," Hermione said weakly, her eyes wide, "I know he's not very nice, but he wouldn't try and steal something Dumbledore was keeping safe."

"Honestly, Hermione, you think all teachers are saints or something," Ron said sharply, "I'm with Harry. I wouldn't put anything past Snape."

"What I want to know," Elizabeth said, "Is why whatever it is the dog's guarding is so important. What is it? What makes something small be so valuable? That a teacher would risk lives of students just to create a diversion to get to it?"

None of them had an answer to that, and with curfew closing in, the four had to go their separate ways. Besides, Elizabeth's brother had been at a nearby table, waiting anyway. He'd been keeping his word about keeping an eye on her. After classes, he was always nearby, within eye sight. He gave them privacy, didn't eavesdrop on conversations, but he and Cedric were always within eye sight. Elizabeth found it really annoying.

"Ready to head back to the common room?" Lewis asked as Elizabeth got closer.

"No Cedric today?" Elizabeth asked, rolling her eyes.

"He had Quidditch practice," Lewis replied irritably. Apparently, he was still sore about not making the team. Elizabeth would have felt sorry for him if he wasn't being so overbearing.

The following day was the Quidditch match. The sky was clear and the weather was cool and perfect. Elizabeth was grinning as she headed down the pitch with Hannah and Susan. Lewis, once again, was close behind her, talking with Cedric.

"Your brother is following us again," Hannah whispered, glancing over her shoulder.

"Yeah, he thinks he's keeping me out of trouble," Elizabeth said, rolling her eyes.

"Well, you can't blame him," Susan said, "Wandering around the halls with a troll loose is pretty stupid."

"I wasn't going to let Hermione wander around with no idea the troll was there," Elizabeth replied, "Besides, I was going to find a teacher. I wasn't going to fight the thing."

Unlike Harry and Ron, whose first instinct was to run straight for it. She knew they were right. They probably saved Hermione's life. But she still thought they had been complete idiots.

Elizabeth followed her fellow Hufflepuffs up through the stairs to the crowd, and Elizabeth made sure to get to a place in the front row. Somewhere where she wasn't completely surrounded by people. Somewhere where she could look ahead and pretend there weren't dozens of people all around her. Elizabeth noticed something bright across from them and saw the Gryffindor stands, where there was a large banner that read "Potter for Prime Minister". That one confused Elizabeth. There was only the Minister of Magic. There wasn't any Prime Minister.

"Here they come!" Susan called, pointing down. Elizabeth followed her gaze and noticed several people, half in red, the other half in green, heading out onto the pitch with brooms. Elizabeth easily spotted Harry among the Gryffindor team. He was the smallest, shortest person there. Elizabeth watched as the two teams mounted their brooms, then were up in the air.

Elizabeth loved watching Quidditch. She soon found herself quite into the game, eager to see Slytherin be beat. The Quaffle was constantly going back and forth between Chasers. The Bludgers flying, directed by Beaters. The Keepers trying to keep Quaffles from the goals. And the Seekers circling up ahead.

She'd gone to professional Quidditch matches before. A school match didn't compare, but it was still very exciting. She found herself following along every move. Gryffindor had the Quaffle. No, Slytherin did. No, Gryffindor. Slytherin again. Bludgers flying. Gryffindor retaking the Quaffle. Lost to Slytherin. Attempted score. Gryffindor blocks. Gryffindor has the Quaffle again.

"GRYFFINDOR SCORES!" the commentator's voice echoed loudly through the field and Elizabeth cheered loudly.

The match continued. Elizabeth had completely lost sight of Harry, instead watching the action around the field. That was, until the commentator, who Lewis said was Lee Jordan, brought attention that the Snitch had been spotted. Elizabeth looked up quickly and noticed Harry had gone into a dive, the Slytherin Seeker right behind.

Elizabeth started yelling, trying to encourage Harry on from the stands. Susan and Hannah were screaming just as loudly on either side of her. It seemed like the rest of the match was completely forgotten, everyone focused on the two Seekers in a race to a tiny glint in the sunlight. Harry was starting to pull in the lead, he looked just seconds away from catching the Snitch...

Then, out of nowhere, one of the Slytherin players rammed into Harry, knocking him off course and Harry seemed to be holding on with a death grip.

Elizabeth groaned, sinking back in her chair as there was a roar of "FOUL!" from the Gryffindor stands.

Lee Jordan seemed to be having trouble keeping unbiased in his commentaries now. Even more than he already did, from what Lewis said.

"All right, all right," Jordan finally said after being scolded by McGonagall several times, "Flint nearly kills the Gryffindor Seeker, which could happen to anyone, I'm sure, so a penalty to Gryffindor, taken by Spinnet, who puts it away, no trouble, and we continue play, Gryffindor still in possession."

The Quaffle started going back and forth again. Bludgers flying. Chasers dodging. Loud cheers from Slytherin as they scored, while all other stands were groaning.

"What's going on with Harry?" Hannah suddenly asked in a high voice, pointing up.

Elizabeth looked up as well, her chest tightening as she noticed Harry was bucking around on his broom. It suddenly gave a violent jerk and Harry tumbled from the broom. Elizabeth shrieked a little, then had a wave of relief as Harry managed to stay in the air by one hand still gripped around the broom.

"That's a new broom! It shouldn't be doing that!" Elizabeth said, her voice high and shrill. Quidditch was a dangerous game, but this was a whole different level of danger. Harry could get killed.

The entire match was completely forgotten. Everyone was on their feet, staring at Harry. Fred and George kept trying to get close, but anytime they did, Harry's broom would jump higher in the air. Every time it did, Elizabeth would gasp, her heart stopping momentarily in fear that Harry was about to lose his grip on the handle and fall.

Several long, agonizing minutes passed. Finally, to Elizabeth's immense relief, Harry's broom seemed to settle down and he pulled himself back on it. Elizabeth sunk down in her chair, her legs weak suddenly. She didn't think she'd be able to stand. She didn't even realize Harry had made a dive until a second later, she heard him shouting from the ground.

"I'VE GOT THE SNITCH!" he called. Elizabeth immediately leaned over the side of the stands and saw Harry standing on the ground below, waving his hand in the air.

"The...The match is over?" Susan asked.

"Well, one thing's for sure," Lewis said behind them, "We definitely had an unforgettable opening match to the season."

Elizabeth laughed, heading down from the stands to catch up to Hermione and Ron. She wanted to ask if they had any idea what was up with Harry's broom, but Hagrid came up behind, inviting them to tea just as Harry was coming out of the locker room. They all agreed eagerly, heading towards Hagrid's hut and gathering in the small building with oversized furniture.

"Did any of you see what was going on?" Elizabeth asked once Hagrid passed around the cups.

"It was Snape," Ron said, "Hermione and I saw him. He was cursing Harry's broomstick, muttering, he wouldn't take his eyes off you, Harry."

"Rubbish," it was Hagrid who replied, "Why would Snape do somethin' like that?"

Elizabeth glanced at her friends, thinking about Halloween night. About what Harry overheard the day before in the staffroom.

"Well..." Elizabeth said slowly, figuring there'd be no harm in telling Hagrid, "We found out he tried to get past that three-headed dog on the third floor on Halloween."

"It bit him," Harry had, "We think he's trying to steal whatever it's guarding."

There was a crash and Elizabeth jumped a little, then realized Hagrid had dropped his teapot.

"How do you know about Fluffy?"

"_Fluffy_?"

"Yeah—he's mine—bought him off a Greek I met in the pub las' year—I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the—"

"The what?" Elizabeth asked, leaning forward.

"Now, don't ask me anymore," Hagrid said a bit sharply, cleaning up the teapot, "That's top secret, that is."

"But Snape's trying to _seal_ it," Harry said.

"Rubbish. Snape's a Hogwarts teacher, he'd do nothin' of the sort."

"Except try to curse a student's broom and nearly kill him," Elizabeth said simply.

"I know a jinx when I see one," Hermione added, "I've read all about them! You've got to keep eye contact, and Snape wasn't blinking at all, I saw him!"

"I'm tellin' yeh, yer wrong!" Hagrid said in a tone that made Elizabeth shrink back a little, suddenly remembering why she had thought this man was so intimidating the first time they met, "I don' know why Harry's broom acted like that, but Snape wouldn' try an' kill a student! Now, listen to me, all three of yeh—yer meddlin' in things that don' concern yeh. It's dangerous. You forget that dog, an' Nicolas Flamel—"

"Who's Nicolas Flamel?" Elizabeth asked quickly.

Hagrid looked even more furious, and declared tea was over, hurrying everyone out the door. The four stood there, staring at the closed door, before reluctantly starting back up to the castle. It seemed they weren't getting anything else out of Hagrid today.


	9. Chapter Nine

_**Chapter Nine:**_

Elizabeth already spent a lot of time in the library, just for an excuse to be with her friends a while. Now, however, all that time was spent trying to find out who Nicolas Flamel was. They couldn't find any reference in the dozens of books they went through. The search ended up falling up short day after day, as the weather slowly grew colder. Snow started to fall, to the point there were some mornings Elizabeth woke up to the rooms a bit darker than usual because snow had piled up over the windows.

The longer they didn't get answers, the more Elizabeth started to wonder if they ever would. The last day of the term, they were once again searching, though Elizabeth found herself distracted. She spent more time at the window, looking out at fellow students playing in the snow. She saw Lewis and Cedric in a snowball fight—if there was one good thing about the obsessive library trips, it convinced Lewis that Elizabeth wasn't going to be looking for trouble again. If he only knew the truth. He'd probably make sure Elizabeth was never out of his sight for the rest of her life.

Unsurprising, they left the library that night empty-handed, making their way down to the Great Hall for dinner.

"Do you think Hagrid might have been right?" Elizabeth asked.

"What?" Harry turned to Elizabeth, "What're you talking about?"

"Searching for Nicolas Flamel, worrying about what Fluffy is guarding," Elizabeth said, "What if Hagrid's right, and we should just forget about it? I mean, Snape didn't get past that dog. He obviously hasn't tried again. And Hagrid said Hogwarts is the safest place. Maybe we should just leave it to Dumbledore and Fluffy."

"Elizabeth," Harry said, "No one but us believes Snape is after whatever Fluffy is guarding. If we don't do anything, it's letting him win. He'll get past Fluffy eventually."

"Besides, it's not like we're planning to go after Professor Snape," Hermione said, making a face at the idea, "We're just trying to find out who Nicolas Flamel is."

"I guess you're right," Elizabeth said with a sigh, "I don't know what I'm saying."

"Don't worry, we'll figure it out soon," Harry said, "I know I've heard the name somewhere before. It's just a matter of where."

Elizabeth nodded a bit. It was probably just her annoyed they hadn't found anything. Of course she wanted Snape stopped. But there was just something in the back of her mind that kept going 'Why not let the teachers handle it?' But Harry was right. They were the only ones who knew Snape was after whatever was being guarded. They needed to find out who Nicolas Flamel was.

She chose to sit with the Hufflepuffs that night, simply because it was the last meal of the term. Elizabeth sat between Susan and Hannah, putting some chicken and potatoes on her plate.

"Eager for the holidays?" Susan asked.

"Definitely," Elizabeth replied, "I miss my mum, my Aunt Ginger. It'll be great being home again."

"I know what you mean," Hannah said, "We have a dog at home. I can't wait to see him again, almost as much as I want to see my parents."

Dinner continued with talks of plans at home, comparing stories of how they spent their Christmases. Eventually, the food disappeared from the table and Houses were starting to filter out for bed. Elizabeth stood up, calling a good night to Harry, Ron, and Hermione before following Susan and Hannah to the Hufflepuff common room with the others.

Elizabeth made sure everything was packed before going to bed that night, and once again, she woke up early. She changed, bundling up in her warmest clothes and making sure Cream was in the cat carrier. She gave all her roommates her goodbyes before meeting her brother in the common room. Though in the entrance hall, she broke away from him for a minute to head over to Harry and Ron.

"Stay out of trouble, okay?" Elizabeth said with a grin, "I'll see you when the holidays are over. Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas," the boys replied, saying their goodbyes to Hermione as well, as she'd just come down the stairs.

Hermione and Elizabeth followed Lewis with the line of students going home for the holidays down a path to the small station where the Hogwarts Express waited. Lewis went to find a compartment with friends while Hermione and Elizabeth found one to themselves.

"Do you think the boys will find anything while we're gone?" Hermione asked once the train started moving.

"I doubt it," Elizabeth said, "We haven't found anything so far."

"Oh, I don't know," Hermione said, "They could find something."

"Let's hope so. I'm getting sick of all this searching."

"Do you really want to drop all of this? After coming so far?"

"Hermione," Elizabeth looked at her friend, "Think about it. We've been at this for months. Since you saw that trap door, all we've learned is that a three-headed dog is guarding something that _might_ have been a small package Hagrid took from Gringotts. And someone named Nicolas Flamel is involved. That's not coming far. That's having nothing."

"So you want to give up?" Hermione asked, straightening herself.

"Of course not!" Elizabeth said, "I'm not saying give up! I'm just saying that maybe we shouldn't focus so much on it. We spend so much time on finding Nicolas Flamel, that we don't do anything else. I think we just need a break or something."

"Then it's a good thing we're leaving for holidays," Hermione said, but she sighed, "You're right, though. We have been focusing too much on this."

Elizabeth nodded, then suddenly realized this was the first time she was actually talking one-on-one with Hermione since their first grip to Hogwarts. The last time they sat like this, Elizabeth had kept wishing Hermione would stop talking. She'd jumped at the chance to get away. How things change in a few months...

Hermione and Elizabeth decided it was better to talk about something that wasn't Nicolas Flamel, or theories about what Fluffy was guarding. So, instead, they spent the rest of the trip comparing the work of Healers to the dentists of the Muggle world. Elizabeth had just been in the middle of explaining a spell that could straighten teeth easily when the train rolled to a stop at platform 9 3/4.

"See you after the holidays," Elizabeth told Hermione with a grin, "Happy Christmas."

"Happy Christmas," Hermione replied with her own grin.

Elizabeth headed off to find her brother, then he two of them found their mother waiting on the platform.

"Oh, it's so good to see you two again," Grace said, hugging both of her children. Elizabeth hugged her mother back tightly. She hadn't realized just how much she missed her mother until just now.

"It's good to be home," Elizabeth said with a grin.

"Yeah, Hogwarts is great but it's nothing compared to home," Lewis added.

They made their way on home and Elizabeth was so glad to see the small house covered in snow. Lewis was right. She loved being at Hogwarts, but there was nothing like home. Elizabeth had missed being here a lot and she was grinning as she came into the house, letting Cream out of the carrier before she took her trunk to her room.

She missed this room. The faded walls, the warm quilt over the bed, the view of the garden—now covered in snow, however. Elizabeth grinned as she pulled off her coat and put it in her wardrobe before flopping back on her bed, closing her eyes with a grin. It was so good to be home again. Away from classes, away from the obsession of finding out who Nicolas Flamel was...

"There's my favorite niece!"

Elizabeth say up to see Aunt Ginger was in the doorway with a grin. Elizabeth laughed, hopping to her feet and running over to hug her aunt. It didn't really matter that she was Aunt Ginger's only niece, she just loved seeing her.

"I missed you," she said, grinning up at her aunt.

"Same here," Aunt Ginger said, "And there was no way I was going to miss your first night home. I've already said hi to Lewis."

"Are you staying for dinner?"

"Of course," Aunt Ginger said. Elizabeth shouldn't have been surprised. Aunt Ginger took any excuse to not have to cook for herself.

As late as it was, dinner came quickly and the family gathered around the table in the kitchen. Elizabeth found herself very eager for a home-cooked meal. Sure, the food at Hogwarts was good, but it was nothing compared to her mother's.

"So, I was thinking about going to Diagon Alley tomorrow," Aunt Ginger said, "Get some Christmas shopping done. Who wants to go?"

"That sounds great!" Elizabeth said with a bright grin.

"Nah, I'm fine," Lewis said, "I actually did some shopping at the last Hogsmeade trip."

"I have to work," Grace said, "And I'm not sure I like you staying at the house by yourself, Lewis."

"He can come along," Aunt Ginger said, "And then go on his own. Maybe he'll run into a friend, or he can hang out at one of the shops while Elizabeth and I do our shopping."

"Actually, I'll just go with Mum," Lewis said, "I'll stay up in the visitor's room, maybe work on some homework."

"You? Do homework on a holiday?" Elizabeth asked doubtfully. Lewis just rolled his eyes.

"Looks like it'll just be you and me, Liz," Aunt Ginger said with a grin.

"I'm fine with that," Elizabeth said, laughing. Some one-on-one time with her aunt would be great.

"We'll make a full day out of it," Aunt Ginger said, "We'll start early, after breakfast. Do lots of shopping, have some lunch, and do even more shopping."

Elizabeth laughed. That sounded like a perfect day to her.

She went to bed happy that night. Glad to be back in her room, snuggled under her own quilt. Though it was odd. Over the past couple of months, she'd gotten used to the sound of her roommates breathing. Of Sally-Anne's soft snoring. Now the only noise she had was the soft creaking of her bed when she rolled over. A fluttering or soft hoot coming from the living room or her brother's room from the owls. Cream giving an odd noise as she stretched and repositioned herself on Elizabeth's pillow by her head. She was so glad to be home, but she was also finding it hard to go to sleep. As hard as it was the first few nights, trying to adjust to the noises of roommates at Hogwarts.

Elizabeth rolled over onto her back, staring up at her ceiling. The soft lilac paint was starting to peel in some areas. It caused odd patterns across the ceiling, faintly visible in the moonlight from the window. Or maybe it was because Elizabeth was staring at it without her glasses on. It left everything fuzzy. Still, Elizabeth followed the patterns, creating shapes in her head for several minutes until, slowly, she finally drifted off to sleep.


	10. Chapter Ten

_**Chapter Ten:**_

"Elizabeth, sweetie, time to get up."

Elizabeth gave a groan as she rolled over, slowly opening her eyes. Her room was bright now, sunlight shining and reflecting off snow. Elizabeth squinted at her clock and saw it was after nine.

She bolted up in her bed, snatching her glasses and shoving them on. Looking up, she saw her mother dressed in healer robes.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Elizabeth asked, "Is Aunt Ginger here?"

"She just arrived," Grace said, "Breakfast is done and Lewis is already up. Come on, get dressed and come eat."

Grace left and Elizabeth quickly changed into warm clothes and brushed through her hair, leaving it down, brushing against her shoulders. She hurried on into the kitchen, where the rest of her family was already sitting around the table.

"Morning sleepy head," Aunt Ginger said with a grin as Elizabeth sat down, "Ready for our girl's day?"

"Very," Elizabeth said, grabbing some sausage and toast.

"I figured we'd start with Flourish and Blotts," Aunt Ginger said, "Then we'd just decide where to go from there."

Elizabeth nodded, figuring that was a good plan. She and her aunt finished breakfast and bade goodbye to Grace and Lewis, taking the money her mother gave her for shopping.

"Behave yourself, Elizabeth," Grace said—Elizabeth groaned in response, "And have fun."

"I will," Elizabeth said, wrapping herself in her winter cloak and following her aunt from the house.

"Ready?" Aunt Ginger asked, holding out her arm.

"Ready," Elizabeth said with a nod, taking her aunt's arm and letting her Apparate them to an alley near The Leaky Cauldron, where the entrance to Diagon Alley was.

"Hello, Tom, just passing through," Aunt Ginger greeted the bartender as she and Elizabeth entered the pub. They went straight to the back to the courtyard behind the pub, and on through to Diagon Alley.

Elizabeth always loved Diagon Alley. She loved the shops and how busy the streets were. She loved the bright displays in the windows. The sounds of people stopping to chat on the way from one shop to the next, even in the cold, snowy weather they had that day. Diagon Alley was one of Elizabeth's favorite places to be. She'd take any excuse to come visit.

"So, tell me all about Hogwarts," Aunt Ginger said as they walked, as if Elizabeth hadn't been writing her letters nearly every week.

"Hogwarts is great," Elizabeth answered anyway, "I've made a lot of friends, and I guess I'm doing okay in my classes."

"Doing okay?" Aunt Ginger asked, "I take it some don't go well?"

"Well, I really like Transfiguration," Elizabeth said. It was easily her favorite class, "And thanks to Hermione, I'm starting to do a little better in Defense Against the Dark Arts. But I'm absolutely horrid in Charms."

"I'm sure you'll get better with practice," Aunt Ginger said with a grin, "If you want to know, your mother nearly failed her Herbology NEWT."

"She did?" Elizabeth asked in surprise. The OWLs were the Ordinary Wizarding Levels exams they were to take in their fifth year. It determined what classes they'd take in their final two years of Hogwarts, in their NEWT—Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Test—levels. The classes that would determine what careers they went into. As a Healer, Herbology was a very important subject. As was Defense Against the Dark Arts. To find out her mother nearly didn't get to become a Healer...

"She'd never admit it, but yes," Aunt Ginger said, "She only just scraped an Acceptable in her Herbology NEWT."

Elizabeth felt a little better at that as they entered the bookstore. Immediately, she found herself wondering if any of these books had information about Nicolas Flamel. She could easily walk up to the bookstore owner and ask...

She shook off the thought, however, feeling guilty as she did so. This was supposed to be her vacation. Besides, she'd have to explain to her aunt why she wanted to look him up, and she really didn't want to lie to her family. Especially her Aunt Ginger.

Instead, Elizabeth just browsed the titles, eventually coming across one that looked like Hermione might enjoy. She went and paid for the book as her aunt was paying for a cookbook.

"You're actually going to try and learn?" Elizabeth asked in surprise.

"Merlin, no," Aunt Ginger said, laughing as they headed back into the cold, "This is for Xavier."

"Who?"

"Xavier Gretchen. He's an Obliviator and a member of the Wizengamot. He really loves to cook, I figured I'd get him something nice for Christmas."

Was it just Elizabeth's imagination, or did her aunt's cheeks suddenly go a little pink? It had to be her imagination. Or the cold. Elizabeth decided not to dwell on it as they stopped by a sweet shop and she bought a box of pumpkin pasties for Harry and Ron, and chocolate frogs for Susan and Hannah. Aunt Ginger let Elizabeth stop by a post office to send off the gifts, and the two were back out in the cold to shop for their family now.

"How about we find some nice jewelry for Grace?" Aunt Ginger asked as they stopped by a jewelry store, "From you, anyway. I've already bought her gift."

Elizabeth nodded, following her aunt into the jewelry store. They spent far longer than they really should have in there. Elizabeth kept getting distracted by bracelets and necklaces she liked herself, and was almost tempted by buy herself a silver bracelet that looked like braided threads. She didn't, however, reminding herself she was doing Christmas shopping for others. Finally, she settled on buying her mother a simple necklace with a small pink pendant hanging from it before she and Aunt Ginger braved the cold again.

Their next stop was a trinket store that was more for Aunt Ginger than Elizabeth. Everything in it looked old and dusty, somewhere where old people would shop. Not that she thought her Aunt Ginger was old, but apparently she liked stuff like this.

Elizabeth just walked around aimlessly while Ginger was looking over an old oil lamp. She stopped, however, when she came across a pair of identical mirrors. They were both small and square, with a simple detail along the silver frame. They looked like ordinary mirrors, except for the fact that when Elizabeth picked up one and looked in it, she didn't see her reflection. The image in it didn't change at all, just showing the store behind her.

'_Must be some type of joke mirror,'_ Elizabeth thought, going to put it down, then stopped. She'd caught sight of the second mirror on the shelf. Her own freckled face was reflected on the glass of the second mirror. Elizabeth slowly moved the mirror in her hand up and down, and saw the image in the second mirror moved with it, depending on the angle Elizabeth held the glass.

"What's that you've found?" Aunt Ginger asked, coming over. She looked at Elizabeth's mirror, then the one on the shelf and picked it up. As she did, Elizabeth watched as her aunt's face appeared on the reflective glass in her hand.

"This is actually wicked..." Elizabeth said, "What are they?"

"Two-way mirrors," came a new voice and Elizabeth looked up to see the shopkeeper had come over—an elderly man in dark robes and he had a cheerful face, "Quite old, they don't work as well as they used to. They're stuck showing the other's image, and the range on them isn't that great. They stop working after about a mile's distance."

Elizabeth couldn't help but think there was nothing wrong with that. She found herself seeing how these could be useful. After all, she was in a different House than Harry, Ron, and Hermione. This thing could be very useful for talking with them...

Though Elizabeth looked at the price and frowned. There was no way she could afford them and still finish up her Christmas shopping...

"We'll take them," Aunt Ginger said and Elizabeth looked up at her in shock. Her aunt just grinned back, "Consider them your Christmas gift."

"Oh, thank you!" Elizabeth said, hugging her aunt tightly.

Elizabeth was still grinning brightly as they left the door with the mirrors and the two decided to stop by a little café for lunch. Elizabeth had to admit, she really enjoyed the warm soup and hot chocolate she ordered.

They stopped by a Quidditch shop next, where Elizabeth got a pair of Chaser gloves for her brother. Lastly, they went by a small shop where Elizabeth found a nice hat and quill for her grandparents.

With both carrying bags full of newly bought gifts, and the day getting colder as the sun was starting to set, Aunt Ginger took Elizabeth back home and was, once again, staying over for dinner.

"Looks like we beat Grace and Lewis back," Aunt Ginger said as she and Elizabeth headed inside.

"Good thing, we can get the presents wrapped," Elizabeth said with a grin.

Wrapping presents with Aunt Ginger was always fun. She had turned on the radio nearby to a station playing the Weird Sisters, Elizabeth's favorite band. Grace didn't like their music much, so Elizabeth had to either listen in her room or not at all.

The two sang along to the tunes, wrapping one present after another, until the presents were done. They were just finishing when Grace returned with Lewis.

"Do you have to be listening to that?" Grace asked, pointing her wand to the radio and switching the station to coverage of a recent Quidditch game. Aunt Ginger looked over at Elizabeth and rolled her eyes.

"Shopping was fun, Grace, thanks for asking," Aunt Ginger said.

"Sorry, it was a long day," Grace said with a sigh, "I'm going to go make dinner. You're staying again, right?"

"Of course."

"Why did I ask?" Grace replied, though she sounded more amused than annoyed now as she disappeared into the kitchen.

When it was time for dinner, Elizabeth noticed Aunt Ginger was bringing up Xavier the Obliviator quite a lot. Nearly every topic they had, she'd mention something with "Well, Xavier says..." or "Xavier thinks that's..." Elizabeth couldn't help but wonder why her aunt was bringing him up a lot.

"Is he coming for Christmas?" Lewis asked.

This time, Elizabeth was sure of it. Her aunt's cheeks went a light shade of pink beneath her freckles.

"No, no," she said, "He's only a friend, Lewis. He's spending Christmas with his family."

Why would her aunt say Xavier was only a friend? Elizabeth thought it was quite obvious they were friends. Then, she realized what was going on and she gasped.

"You fancy him!" she said with the excitement of a five-year-old. Aunt Ginger choked on her food.

"Elizabeth!"

"What?" Elizabeth looked towards her mother. Lewis was laughing now, and Aunt Ginger was settling down her cough.

"You know better than that, Elizabeth," Grace said warningly.

It was Elizabeth's turn to blush now. She knew her mother was right, but she had just gotten a bit excited. The idea of her aunt getting a boyfriend, in her opinion, was a nice one. Aunt Ginger hadn't dated since she left Hogwarts. Always busy with work, she said.

"Sorry, Aunt Ginger," Elizabeth muttered, staring down at her plate.

"Don't worry about it, Liz," Aunt Ginger said, "I guess I do fancy Xavier a bit."

Dinner was a lot quieter after that. Aunt Ginger didn't seem upset with Elizabeth, at least, but she did seem embarrassed through the rest of dinner. She even still hugged Elizabeth tightly before leaving, promising to be back soon.

To make things up for what she did, Elizabeth offered to clean dishes that night and worked through it quickly before heading on to bed, changing into her pajamas. After a long day out in the cold, she was tired. She put her glasses on her nightstand and curled up under her warm quilts. Unlike the night before, she was asleep almost instantly.

**xxxxx**

Elizabeth was so glad it was the holidays. She spent a lot of days out in the snow, having snowball fights with her brother or building snowmen and making snow angels. The evenings were spent by the fire in the living room, warming up and toasting marshmallows or drinking hot chocolate. Or they would be decorating the house for Christmas. Putting ornaments on the tree, hanging moving figures of Father Christmas, and lining the fireplace with garland. All of these proved difficult because Cream wanted to get into, run off with, or chase everything. At one point, Cream had gotten ahold of the strung popcorn for the tree and took off with it, leaving a long line of popcorn down the hall and into the bathroom. It took several minutes to coax the kitten out from behind the toilet and another half hour to clean up all the popcorn.

Aunt Ginger still visited every day, though after that one dinner, she was obviously trying to control how often she talked about Xavier. Elizabeth still felt embarrassed over what she did. She just got so excited over it, but now she knew she should have kept quiet. Still, she hoped things went well for Aunt Ginger and Xavier.

Elizabeth woke Christmas morning, warm and comfortable under her covers. Though the second Cream realized Elizabeth was up, she was immediately headbutting Elizabeth in the face.

"Ugh, fine," Elizabeth muttered, brushing her cat away and sitting up. She reached for her nightstand, grabbing her glasses and pushing them on. Like every Christmas, there were presents sitting at the foot of her bed, waiting to be opened. Elizabeth immediately pulled the first one over to start opening.

She had quite a few good presents. Her mother gave her a new brush-and-mirror set—which Elizabeth was really grateful for. Her current brush was missing half its bristles. There was a hat, gloves, and scarf set from her grandparents. Various sweets from Harry, Ron, Hermione, Susan, and Hannah. And lastly, from Lewis was a new Montrose Magpies poster, which Elizabeth immediately put on her wall, taking down the old one that was missing the lower left corner.

Elizabeth got dressed, brushing through her hair with her new brush before heading on into the living room. As usual, her mother was already up. Surprisingly, though, Lewis was up as well, sitting at the table as Grace cooked.

"Morning, Liz," Lewis said as Elizabeth say down.

"Morning," she replied, "Happy Christmas."

"On that, thanks for the gloves."

"And thanks for the poster," Elizabeth said with a grin, looking to Grace, "And the brush and mirror."

"Of course, Elizabeth," Grace said with a grin, putting bacon and eggs on their plates before sitting down at the table. Elizabeth noticed her mother was wearing the necklace she bought her and felt quite proud.

Christmas at the Martin household was always something Elizabeth loved. They spent the morning at Grace and Ginger's parents' place, and had a nice Christmas lunch there. The afternoon was back at the Martin home, where Grace stayed and they listened to Christmas songs on the radio while singing along and Ginger pulled Lewis and Elizabeth into dances now and then around the living room while Grace watched from the couch. The day ended with a large dinner, just the four of them, and piles of Christmas pudding. Elizabeth was exhausted, but in a good mood when she went to bed that night. She wouldn't trade Christmas with her family for anything in the world.

The rest of the holidays passed much like the start of them did. Lewis and Elizabeth playing in the snow, or them inside with Grace and Ginger, listening to music and just talking. Elizabeth was a bit reluctant to return to Hogwarts, but the day came and Elizabeth was just hopping back off the train from getting her trunk and cat up, coming back to her mother to hug her goodbye.

"You two have a good second term," Grace said, turning from Elizabeth to Lewis, "I'll see you both in the summer."

"Bye, see you this summer," Elizabeth said with a grin, getting back on the train after Lewis. He waved goodbye to his mother before heading off to find Cedric. Elizabeth went on along the train herself to find Hermione, quickly finding the girl in a compartment by herself.

"Did you enjoy your holiday?" Elizabeth asked as she sat down.

"Yes, I did," Hermione said with a nod, "I got a lot of our homework done."

Only Hermione would be happy about doing homework on Christmas holidays.

"My holiday was great, too," Elizabeth said, "Unfortunately, I didn't find anything on Nicolas Flamel."

Even though the truth was Elizabeth never even looked in the first place. Maybe she'd be lucky and the boys knew who he was by now...She still felt a little guilty not looking while she was at the bookstore.

"But I got these cool things, I can't wait to show the guys," Elizabeth went on, explaining to Hermione about the two-way mirrors she got, and how she'd get them out when at Hogwarts, to show Ron and Harry at the same time too.

"Those sound so fascinating," Hermione said, sitting up straighter, "That has to be complicated magic on them."

"Even though it's fading," Elizabeth said, "The man said the mirrors are stuck showing the other side, instead of only when they're used, and they can't be used at long range. We'd only be able to use them at school."

"They're still fascinating," Hermione said, "And I'm sure they'll be very useful."

Elizabeth agreed, and their conversation shifted to the holidays again, talking about their families and what they did to spend the time. It was dark when the train rolled into the station and they made their way up to the castle with other students, hugging robes around them in the cold. Elizabeth was starving when they got into the Great Hall and she waved to Harry and Ron before heading to the Hufflepuff table.

"Did you enjoy your holiday?" Susan asked with a grin as they got dinner on their plates.

"I really did," Elizabeth said, "My aunt might have a boyfriend soon."

"Really?" Hannah asked, "Oh, that's so sweet!"

"She kept talking about him a lot," Elizabeth said, "I think she really fancies him."

"I wish we had romantic stories like that from home," Susan said, "All I have is my Auntie Amelia bought me this necklace."

Susan leaned forward, holding out the chain around her neck that had a pendant with a curved 'S' on it.

"It's so pretty," Elizabeth said with a grin.

The three girls kept talking, exchanging stories until Elizabeth saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione heading out. She excused herself, quickly following behind, meeting them in an empty corridor. Elizabeth quickly pulled out the mirrors, showing them to the boys. Harry and Ron thought they were as brilliant as Elizabeth did, and they all agreed it'd make talking throughout the day easier.

"Anyway, did you find out anything about Nicolas Flamel?" Elizabeth asked as she carefully wrapped her mirror and put it away in her bag.

"No," Harry said, "But you should hear what did happen. I got an Invisibility Cloak for Christmas—"

"What?" Elizabeth asked, her eyes widening, "Harry, those things are really rare! And expensive!"

"Apparently it was my father's," Harry said, "Someone sent it to me, saying it was in their care and they were passing it to me. I thought maybe I could get into the restricted section of the library—"

"What were you _thinking_, Harry?" Hermione whispered, her eyes widening, "If Filch had caught you!"

"He didn't," Harry said, "But that's not the point. I couldn't find anything in the books."

Harry paused for a moment, glancing over at Ron.

"You might as well tell them," Ron said.

"Tell us what?" Elizabeth asked.

"Well, we didn't find anything on Flamel, like I said," Harry said slowly, turning back to the girls, "But we found this mirror."

"It was brilliant," Ron said, "You could see whatever you wanted in it—"

"Dumbledore said it showed the heart's desire," Harry said quietly.

"A mirror that shows the heart desire?" Elizabeth asked. She sat there quietly, trying to figure out what a mirror like that would show her...Herself as a healer at St. Mungo's, maybe?

"Dumbledore's moved it, though," Harry said, "He said the mirror's dangerous. He says people have gone mad, obsessing over what they see in the mirror."

"Then what's it doing here?" Hermione asked, "Why keep something that dangerous here?"

"It's not like there's nothing dangerous here," Elizabeth pointed out, "There's Fluffy."

"Maybe Dumbledore's protecting it, like whatever it is he's protecting for Flamel?" Harry asked.

"Probably," Hermione said, "I can see why they want something like that protected. It sounds like it could be dangerous."

"It seems Dumbledore's starting his own Gringotts here at Hogwarts," Elizabeth said, "I mean, first whatever's Fluffy guarding. Now this mirror...What else do you think he's protecting?"

None of them had an answer. They went on to their own common rooms for bed, where Elizabeth curled up in her bed, easily drifting off to sleep.


	11. Chapter Eleven

_**Chapter Eleven:**_

January rolled into February. The weather was going from snowy to rainy, and they were still spending far too much time for Elizabeth's liking going through books, looking for Nicolas Flamel. Harry was gone for quite a bit of it as well, since he was practicing Quidditch. This kept leading to friendly teasing between Harry, Ron, and Elizabeth. After all, the upcoming match was Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff. They couldn't help but poke fun at each other over the rivalry.

The homework was also piling up more. Elizabeth was currently sitting alone in the girls' dormitory with her History of Magic assignment in front of her, which was due the next day and she was only halfway through it.

"Elizabeth! Elizabeth, pick up, this is important!"

Elizabeth jumped, splattering ink over her assignment. She sighed in annoyance, using her wand to wipe it away before looking to the nightstand where her mirror was, where she saw Harry and Ron's faces squished together, both trying to see the mirror at once. Elizabeth immediately snatched up her mirror, holding it close.

"What's wrong? What happened?" she asked quickly.

"We found Flamel!" the boys chorused.

"You what?" Elizabeth sat up straighter, pushing her glasses back up her nose, "Really? Where?"

She'd been sick of hearing about Nicolas Flamel, their long hours in the library. But now, it was finally paying off. They finally had something. All that work was worth it. And maybe now that they knew who he was, the others would leave the subject alone now.

"I never thought to look in here!" Hermione's voice came and Elizabeth heard something heavy falling onto a table just out of sight on the mirror, "I got this out of the library weeks ago for a bit of light reading."

"_Light_?" Ron echoed in disbelief. Elizabeth suddenly had a feeling the book might be even bigger than _Hogwarts: A History_.

"Anyway, Elizabeth," Harry turned back to the mirror, "I knew I read his name before, he's mentioned on the back of Dumbledore's chocolate frog card!"

"He is?" Elizabeth asked. She collected the cards, even had Dumbledore, but the name never stuck with her. Of course, she rarely ever actually read the cards.

"I knew it!" Hermione's voice came from off-view again. Harry suddenly turned the mirror and Elizabeth found herself looking at Hermione bent over a very large, very old book, "Nicolas Flamel is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone!"

"The what?" the others asked together. Elizabeth had never heard of that before...

"Oh, _honestly_, don't you three read? Listen, here I'll read it," Hermione gave an annoyed sigh, leaning more over the book, "'_The ancient study of alchemy is concerned with making the Philosopher's Stone, a legendary substance with astonishing powers. The Stone will transform any metal into pure gold. It also produces the Elixir of Life, which will make the drinker immortal._

"'_There have been many reports of the Philosopher's Stone over the centuries, but the only Stone currently in existence belongs to Mr. Nicolas Flamel, the noted alchemist and opera lover. Mr. Flamel, who celebrated his six hundred and sixty-fifth birthday last year, enjoys a quiet life in Devon with his wife, Perenelle (six hundred and fifty-eight.'_"

Elizabeth sat there, stunned. A stone that turned things into gold, and made someone immortal?

"No wonder Snape's after it, if that's what Fluffy's guarding," she said, "It's got to be what he's guarding. What else could it be?"

"And no wonder we couldn't find Flamel in the Study of Recent Developments in Wizardry," Ron added, "He's not exactly recent if he's six hundred and sixty-five, is he?"

"I guess not," Elizabeth said. She didn't quite feel as guilty anymore, now that they knew who Nicolas Flamel was. It wouldn't have mattered, really, if she had found out about him a couple of days earlier.

Besides, they had other things to worry about. The Gryffindor versus Hufflepuff match was drawing closer. Elizabeth had started joking with Harry and Ron at first about the in-House rivalry, as she had done when returning from the term. However, as the match got closer, she noticed Harry looking green. She soon stopped teasing after that.

While Harry was at practice, though, Hermione, Elizabeth, and Ron had their own practicing to do. Elizabeth found out why when Hermione insisted on them meeting in an empty classroom after Harry left for practice.

"Snape's refereeing the match," Ron told Elizabeth when she asked what was wrong.

"What?" Elizabeth asked, shocked, "Snape? Why isn't Madam Hooch refereeing?"

"We don't know," Hermione said, "But we have a plan. I looked up the spell for the Leg-Locker Curse. I think we should practice it. If Professor Snape tries anything, we'll be ready."

"You want to curse a _teacher_?" Elizabeth asked in disbelief. It was one thing trying to find out what Snape was up to, not wanting him to get the Philosopher's Stone, but actually plan to attack him...Elizabeth wasn't so sure about that.

"Elizabeth," Ron said, "Snape tried to _kill_ Harry during the last match. He probably would have if it wasn't for Hermione."

Elizabeth gave a sigh. She knew Ron was right. Still, she didn't really like the idea...

"Fine, let's practice," Elizabeth said, pulling out her wand.

Every time Harry was at Quidditch practice, Elizabeth, Ron, and Hermione were in empty classrooms, practicing the Leg-Locker Curse. Which, much to Elizabeth's annoyance, she was quite bad at. The best Elizabeth could do was make Hermione's legs go a little stiff, but not to the point she couldn't move them. Or make them bind together. Elizabeth couldn't help but be more and more frustrated as she went. If she couldn't even do a simple Leg-Locker Curse, what use was she going to be if she needed to curse Snape?

That thought kept going through Elizabeth's head up to the day of the match. As she reached the Great Hall, she went over and sat between Susan and Hannah.

"Think we'll win?" Hannah asked.

"Of course we will," it was Ernie who answered, sitting on the other side of the table from the girls, "I'm sure Harry just got lucky in the last match. I mean, he caught the Snitch in his mouth. He didn't actually catch it, did he?"

"We've seen Harry fly, though," Elizabeth pointed out, feeling the need to defend her friend, despite the fact they were on opposite sides of the match today, "He is good."

"But he's still a first year," Lewis said nearby, leaning over, "And he's never been on a broom before Hogwarts. It takes more than a natural talent to win at Quidditch, it takes determination and experience, too. Cedric is going to get that Snitch first, I'd bet anything."

There was a rousing chorus of 'hear hear!' from everyone within earshot of Lewis. Elizabeth grinned, but her stomach was churning with nerves. She kept thinking about what if Snape tried something? What if he tried to attack Harry during the match?

'_Hermione and Ron will be watching, too,'_ Elizabeth told herself. They were good with the Leg-Locker Curse. One of them could do it a lot easier than her...

That thought stayed with Elizabeth all the way down to the Quidditch pitch, walking with Hannah and Susan, who were talking excitedly about the match. She noticed as she reached her seat, towards the front of the stands, that Snape looked extremely angry and she soon saw why. Professor Dumbledore was sitting amongst the staff up in the stands.

Relief rushed through Elizabeth. She didn't have to worry about Snape. There was no way Snape would try anything in front of Dumbledore. She had nothing to worry about. She could just sit back and enjoy the match.

The teams were off, soaring up into the air. It was barely even seconds before George had sent a Bludger flying in Snape's direction, which he retaliated to by awarding a penalty to Hufflepuff.

"Serves the right!" Susan called loudly, "You don't attack the ref!"

Elizabeth couldn't help but agree. She didn't like Snape, but you didn't attack teachers. Especially when that teacher was refereeing the Quidditch match you're playing in. Gryffindor brought that one on themselves.

Their Chaser easily scored the penalty and the match went on. Elizabeth looked up above the match as Hufflepuff got another penalty and saw both Harry and Cedric circling above in opposite directions. Suddenly, however, Harry went into a sharp dive towards the ground. Elizabeth barely had time to jump to her feet when Harry pulled from the dive, holding the clutched Snitch high over his head.

"That...That's it?" Elizabeth asked, feeling a bit deflated, "The match is over?"

"It's only been five minutes, at most!" Hannah complained, "I wanted to see Hufflepuff win!"

The Hufflepuffs left in low spirits, feeling robbed. They had expected a long match. Instead, they'd barely even got started when the match was suddenly over. They passed the cheering Gryffindors—Elizabeth noticed Ron had a bloody nose and vaguely wondered what happened—before heading on up to the castle. Elizabeth sighed, glancing back towards the pitch as the others went inside.

It would really be the friendly thing to do to go congratulate Harry, wouldn't it? After all, catching the Snitch in five minutes. It was an amazing play.

So Elizabeth turned back around, passing the cheering Gryffindors heading to their common room, most likely. She reached the locker rooms and stood outside, feeling awkward. Especially as other Gryffindor players were coming out and giving her odd looks as they passed.

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. She could congratulate Harry later, right? Tomorrow. Tomorrow sounded good. Elizabeth turned, starting back towards the castle. She'd just talk to Harry tomorrow. Besides, dinner was most likely being served. And she was hungry.

"Elizabeth?"

She jumped, spinning around to see Harry had just come out of the locker room, his Nimbus Two-Thousand over his shoulder.

"Oh, hi Harry," Elizabeth said, feeling her face warming and she grinned a bit awkwardly, "Um, I just wanted to congratulate you. That was a good play."

"Thanks," Harry said, coming over, "You're not upset, are you? That we beat you?"

"A bit," Elizabeth admitted, "But it was a fair game. Besides...I guess it's good it ended fast. It didn't give Snape a chance to do anything."

Even though Elizabeth doubted he'd have done anything with Dumbledore in the crowd anyway.

"Speaking of Snape..." Harry said, suddenly pointing off across the grounds, "Is that him?"

Elizabeth looked over, seeing a cloaked figure hurrying towards the forest.

"Everyone's at dinner, what's he doing out here?" she asked.

"Come on, let's find out," Harry said, mounting his broom and looking at Elizabeth.

"What?" she squeaked, "Go into the forest?"

"Don't worry," Harry said, "We'll stay high up. Come on. We don't want to lose him."

Elizabeth groaned but swung a leg over the broom, wrapping her arms around Harry from behind to brace herself as they shot into the air. Even with what they were doing, Elizabeth couldn't help but marvel at how smoothly the Nimbus Two-Thousand model flew...

That thought disappeared fast, however, as Harry started towards the forest and Elizabeth could feel the tree tops brushing against her shoes. She couldn't believe they were doing this. That they were sneaking into the forest to spy on a teacher...

It wasn't long before Elizabeth could hear voices. She squeezed Harry's side and he nodded, obviously hearing them too and stopped the broom at a branch in a large tree. Elizabeth climbed over onto the branch as silently as she could and Harry landed next to her. The two began edging along the branches, helping each other along to keep from falling as they kept glancing through the leaves.

They stopped right at the edge of a clearing, making sure they stayed hidden among the leaves. Snape was definitely there. And he wasn't alone. He was talking with Professor Quirrell.

"...d-don't know why you wanted t-t-to meet here of all p-places, Severus..." Professor Quirrell was stuttering, which wasn't unusual. She couldn't help but think, however, that he looked even more nervous than usual.

"Oh, I thought we'd keep this private," Snape said in a cool voice, "Students aren't supposed to know about the Philosopher's Stone, after all."

Harry and Elizabeth glanced at each other with wide eyes before leaning a bit forward on the branch, wanting to hear more.

"Have you found out how to get past that beast of Hagrid's yet?" Snape asked.

"B-b-but Severus, I—"

"You don't want me as your enemy, Quirrell."

"I-I don't know what you—"

"You know perfectly well what I mean."

Snape was standing quite close to Quirrell now. Elizabeth leaned forward a bit more just as an owl hooted nearby. Elizabeth jumped and bit her tongue to keep from calling out as she nearly fell off the branch. In fact, she would have if Harry hadn't have grabbed onto her and help her up. She gave him a grateful look, her heart pounding from the near-accident.

"B-but I d-d-don't—"

"Very well," Snape cut Quirrell off, "We'll have another little chat soon, when you've had time to think things over and decide where your loyalties lie."

Snape pulled the hood of the cloak over his head and left Quirrell alone in the clearing. Elizabeth and Harry just stared at each other silently in their tree, and Elizabeth could tell Harry was thinking the same thing she was.

Snape really _was_ after the Philosopher's Stone. And if Quirrell was the only thing standing between Snape and the Stone, it was only a matter of time before Snape had it.

But, Elizabeth told herself, Quirrell couldn't be the only thing. After all, Snape had no idea how to get past Fluffy. The Stone would stay safe. They didn't have anything to worry about.


	12. Chapter Twelve

_**Chapter Twelve:**_

It seemed that Elizabeth was right. As the weeks went on, Snape still looked very much in a foul mood, and any time Elizabeth passed the third floor corridor, she could hear growling coming from the other side of the door. It seemed the Philosopher's Stone was still perfectly safe. Elizabeth was happy with leaving its protection up to Dumbledore.

Besides, they had something more important to worry about. Hermione was fretting over exams two months away, and kept insisting Harry, Ron, and Elizabeth begin studying as well. What was worse, is the homework was beginning to pile up more as well. Easter Holidays were spent doing homework all day, every day, and the library was fuller than usual, students from all years studying for approaching exams.

Elizabeth was beginning to hate the library. Here she was, on a beautiful day, stuck at a table bent over a Potions essay. Why couldn't they do their homework outside? Where it was warm and sunny?

"This is impossible," Elizabeth said with a groan, leaning back and rubbing her eyes under her glasses, "How are we expected to remember all of this?"

"Hagrid! What are you doing in the library?"

Elizabeth looked up quickly and saw Ron was right. Hagrid had just come from an aisle of books, and immediately hid something behind his back.

"Jus' lookin'," Hagrid said evasively. Elizabeth immediately sat up a little straighter. Well, that tone was definitely suspicious.

"An' what're you lot up ter?" Hagrid went on, "Yer not still lookin' fer Nicolas Flamel, are yeh?"

"Oh, we found out who he was ages ago," Ron said proudly.

"And we know about the Philosopher's St—"

"Don't go shoutin' about it," Hagrid cut Elizabeth off, looking around quickly, "What's the matter with yeh?"

"There are a few things we wanted to ask you, as a matter of fact," Harry said, "About what's guarding the Stone apart from Fluffy—"

"SHHH!" Hagrid hissed, leaning closer, "Listen—come an' see me later, I'm not promisin' I'll tell yeh anythin', mind, but don' go rabbitin' about it here, students aren' s'pposed ter know. They'll think I've told yeh."

"See you later, then," Harry said and Hagrid headed out of the library, still trying to hide whatever book he'd gotten.

"What was that about?" Elizabeth asked, "Why was he trying to hide that book?"

"Do you think it had anything to do with the Stone?" Harry asked.

Elizabeth sighed, but didn't say anything as Ron went to go look at the section Hagrid had been in. The Stone was safe, why should they have to worry about it?

Ron returned after a minute, dropping a pile of books on the table.

"_Dragons_!" he whispered, "Hagrid's looking up stuff about dragons!"

"What?" Elizabeth asked in shock, pulling over a couple of books.

"Hagrid's always wanted a dragon," Harry said, "He told me so the first time I ever met him."

"But it's illegal!" Elizabeth said in shock, "They're dangerous, and it's nearly impossible trying to keep Muggles from seeing them if we have them as pets. They already have enough problems with the ones in the wild!"

"There are wild dragons in _Britain_?"

"Of course there are," Ron said, "Common Welsh Green and Hebridean Blacks."

"And like I said, he Ministry has a hard time covering up sightings," Elizabeth added, "If Hagrid's looking up stuff on dragons, it can't be good."

The four of them couldn't seem to concentrate on studying after that. Even Hermione seemed more preoccupied with what was up with Hagrid rather than studying for exams. After an hour, they packed away their things and hurried down out of the castle and to Hagrid's hut.

Inside was stifling hot. All the curtains were closed and Hagrid had a fire going, despite the warm weather. Elizabeth undid the buckle of her robes over her dress and slipped it off her arms, wanting the heavy, black robes off in the hot hut. They all sat down, refusing the tea Hagrid offered. It was hot enough already in there, they didn't need hot drinks as well.

"So—yeh wanted to ask me somethin'?"

"Do you know what's guarding the Stone other than Fluffy?" Elizabeth asked. She didn't think they should be doing this, getting involved. But maybe if Harry, Ron, and Hermione saw that the Stone was perfectly safe, they'd drop it finally.

"O' course I can't," Hagrid replied, "Number one, I don't know meself. Number two, yeh know too much already, so I wouldn' tell yeh if I could. That Stone's here fer a good reason. It was almost stolen outta Gringotts—I s'ppose yeh've worked that out an' all? Beats me how yeh even know abou' Fluffy."

"Oh, come on Hagrid," Hermione said in a sweet voice, "You might not want to tell us, but you _do_ know, you know everything around here. We only wondered who had _done_ the guarding, really. We wondered who Dumbledore trusted enough to help him, apart from you."

Hagrid's beard twitched and he puffed his chest out. He looked quite proud of himself and Elizabeth glanced at Hermione, thinking that was quite a dirty trick, playing on Hagrid's pride. He was their friend, after all.

"Well, I don' s'pose it could hurt ter tell yeh that..." Hagrid said slowly, "Let's see. He borrowed Fluffy from me...then some o' the teachers did enchantments...Professor Sprout—Professor Flitwick—Professor McGonagall—Professor Quirrell—an' Dumbledore himself did somethin', o' course. Hang on, I've forgotten someone. Oh yeah, Professor Snape."

"_Snape_?"

"Yeah—yer not still on abou' that, are yeh? Look, Snape helped _protect_ the Stone, he's not about ter steal it."

Elizabeth looked over at her friends. For the first time, she felt a bit worried. She remembered hearing Snape's conversation with Quirrell in the woods. He was in on protecting the Stone, he probably knew how to get past all the enchantments protecting it. Except for Quirrell's and Fluffy. The other teachers had to believe Snape was on their side.

But then she remembered Hagrid told them Dumbledore was protecting the Stone as well. Dumbledore, the greatest wizard there ever was. There was no way Snape could get past what Dumbledore had. Or past Fluffy.

"And only you know how to get past Fluffy?" Elizabeth asked, looking to Hagrid.

"Not a soul knows except me an' Dumbledore."

Elizabeth glanced at her friends again. They at least had that. Though Hagrid had told them about the other teachers with a little flattery...Could he accidentally let slip about Fluffy at some point?

They couldn't talk more about it, now, though, and Harry turned back to Hagrid.

"Can we have a window open?" he asked, "I'm boiling."

"Can't, Harry, sorry."

Hagrid looked towards his fire and Elizabeth followed his gaze, then gasped. Sitting in the middle of the fire was an egg. And from the books Hagrid had been looking at, it was very clear that it was a dragon's egg.

"Hagrid!" Elizabeth's voice squeaked, "What are you thinking?! Those are illegal!"

"Where'd you get it, Hagrid?" Ron seemed more interested, though, leaning closer to the fire, but stayed far enough that he wouldn't get burned, "It must've cost you a fortune."

"Won it," Hagrid said, "Las' night. I was down in the village havin' a few drinks an' got into a game o' cards with a stranger. Think he was quite glad ter get rid of it, ter be honest."

"Of course he would be!" Elizabeth said, "They're _illegal_!"

"What are you going to do with it when it's hatched?" Hermione asked.

"Release it, of course!" Elizabeth looked over at Hagrid, who was reaching over and pulling a book out, seeming not to have heard Elizabeth.

"Well, I've bin doin' some readin'," he said, "Got this outta the library—_Dragon Breeding for Pleasure and Profit_—it's a bit outta date, o' course, but it's all in here. Keep the egg in the fire, 'cause their mothers breathe on 'em, see, an' when it hatches, feed it on a bucket o' brandy mixed with chicken blood every half hour. An' see here—how ter recognize diff'rent eggs—what I've got there is a Norwegian Ridgeback. They're rare, them."

"Hagrid, you live in a _wooden house_," Hermione said.

"And what happens when it's grown?" Elizabeth asked.

Hagrid didn't seem to hear and Elizabeth groaned. She looked at her friends as they headed on out of the hut.

"This is a disaster," Elizabeth said, "Having a dragon is illegal!"

"Yeah, we got that the first two times you said it, thanks," Harry said sarcastically. Elizabeth glared at him.

"And what do you think will happen when someone catches Hagrid with that thing?" she asked, "He'll get sent straight to Azkaban!"

Ron paled at that. Azkaban was the wizard prison, out on an island and guarded by horrible creatures known as Dementors. Elizabeth's mother had to go there once, to help with a situation of a prisoner. She'd come back pale and weak and insisted that St. Mungo's could fire her if they wanted, she was never going back again. And that was only after spending a day there.

"We've got to get him to see reason," Ron was agreeing with Elizabeth now, "He can't keep that dragon."

It was a task easier said than done. Most of their time was spent studying, and when they weren't, they were making failed attempts to convince Hagrid to give up the dragon egg. Each try, however, only made Hagrid seem to want to keep it more.

It kept happening over the next couple of weeks until one morning, when Harry, Ron, and Hermione caught Elizabeth at the door of the Great Hall after breakfast, Harry holding a piece of parchment.

"It's hatching," Harry said, a bit of excitement in his voice.

"We should go down right away," Ron said, "I don't want to miss this."

"But Herbology!" Hermione said.

"Hermione, how many times in our lives are we going to see a dragon hatching?"

"We've got lessons, we'll get into trouble, and that's nothing to what Hagrid's going to be in when someone finds out what he's doing—"

"Shut up!" Harry hissed.

Elizabeth looked up at that, noticing Malfoy was nearby. He apparently had been leaving the Great Hall, but stopped to try and eavesdrop. He seemed to have heard enough. He was smirking and Elizabeth got a sinking feeling in her stomach.

Elizabeth had agreed with Hermione, they couldn't skip Herbology. Besides, she could honestly do without 'watched a dragon hatch' on her list of events in her life. Ron disagreed, however, and he and Hermione were arguing in whispers the entire way to the greenhouse. Elizabeth sighed, suddenly wishing she shared a different class than Herbology with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. She didn't want to listen to arguing all morning.

By the time they reached the greenhouses, Hermione finally agreed to go visit Hagrid during their morning break. Elizabeth thought they could spend the time better anywhere except there, but she reluctantly agreed herself.

So, once Herbology was over, Elizabeth followed her friends down to Hagrid's hut. Hagrid was eager to greet them, hurrying them inside the hot little hut.

Elizabeth saw the egg laying on Hagrid's table, moving slightly and long cracks were scattered along the shell. There were odd noises coming from inside and Elizabeth stayed a bit back from the others. Though she had to admit, now that she was in here, watching the egg...There was definitely something fascinating about it.

It seemed they had arrived just in time. No sooner had they gotten around the egg, a loud crack came from it and the shell broke away, revealing a small, leathery black creature with orange eyes and wings bigger than the body.

"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid asked, reaching for the dragon, which snapped at him, "Bless him, look, he knows his mummy!"

Elizabeth pursed her lips at that. She didn't really think the dragon was in any way beautiful. Sure, watching it hatch had been more fascinating than she thought it would, but there was still the problem of what would happen when someone found out Hagrid had it.

"Hagrid," Hermione spoke up, "How fast do Norwegian Ridgebacks grow, exactly?"

Hagrid looked up as if he were going to answer, but suddenly what little of his face was visible through his hair went pale and he jumped to his feet, hurrying over to the window.

"Someone was lookin' through the gap in the curtains," he said, "It's a kid—he's runnin' back up ter the school."

Elizabeth hurried over to the window and looked out. There definitely was a kid running back to the castle. And there was no mistaking that pale blond hair.

It was Draco Malfoy.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

_**Chapter Thirteen:**_

Elizabeth always hated feeling trapped, and that was definitely how she felt over the next week. It was clear Malfoy knew about the dragon. He was holding it over them. He never outright said, but Elizabeth could tell in the looks he gave them. The smug superiority of someone who thought he held all the marbles in Gobstones.

It only made them more determined to try and convince Hagrid to give up the dragon—whom Hagrid decided to name Norbert. The little thing had already tripled in size over the past week and Hagrid hadn't been doing anything aside from taking care of the dragon. The hut stank of raw meat and alcohol all the time now, and Elizabeth always had to fight not to gag when she came in.

"Hagrid," Ron said one afternoon while they were visiting, "Give it two weeks and Norbert's going to be as long as your house. Malfoy could to go Dumbledore at any moment."

"I—I know I can't keep him forever," Hagrid said, sounding as if he were talking about a stray puppy, "But I can't jus' dump him, can't."

"Charlie."

Elizabeth turned to see Harry was staring at Ron.

"You're losing it, too," Ron said, "I'm Ron, remember?"

"No—Charlie—your brother, Charlie," Harry said, "In Romania. Studying dragons. We could send Norbert to him. Charlie can take care of him and then put him back in the wild!"

"Brilliant!" Elizabeth said at the same time as Ron. It solved everything!

It took a while to convince Hagrid, but he finally agreed. They could write Charlie and arrange to have Norbert sent to Romania.

The next morning, Ron had written and sent the letter off with Harry's owl, Hedwig, before breakfast. It was an agonizing wait over the next week. It finally came, and Harry said he and Hermione planned to use his Invisibility Cloak to sneak Norbert to the Astronomy tower. Elizabeth offered to go with them, but Harry said the Cloak wouldn't be big enough so Elizabeth would just stay in her common room and wait for news.

There was something worse to worry about, however. Ron had gotten bit by Norbert the night before. And now, it was swollen and a sickening shade of green. Elizabeth thought he needed to go see Madam Pomfrey, and Harry and Hermione agreed. It took some time, but Ron finally agreed to go after lunch. When classes were done for the day, Elizabeth went on up to the hospital wing with Harry and Hermione to visit Ron, who was in one of the beds and looked quite sick.

"It's not just my hand," Ron groaned, "Although that feels like it's about to fall off. Malfoy told Madam Pomfrey he wanted to borrow one of my books so he could come and have a good laugh at me. He kept threatening to tell her what really bit me—I've told her it was a dog, but I don't think she believes me—I shouldn't have hit him at the Quidditch match, that's why he's doing this."

"You hit Malfoy at the last Quidditch match?" Elizabeth asked, remembering Ron had had a bloody nose, but after the conversation with Snape and Professor Quirrell, she'd completely forgotten to ask about it.

"Don't worry about it, Ron," Hermione said, "It'll all be over at midnight on Saturday."

"Midnight on Saturday!" Ron said up straight in the bed, "Oh no—oh no—I've just remembered—Charlie's letter was in the book Malfoy took, he's going to know we're getting rid of Norbert."

Elizabeth paled. Things couldn't get any worse...As they left the hospital wing, Elizabeth asked if they should write Charlie and change their plans.

"No," Harry said, "We won't have time. This is our only chance to get rid of Norbert. Besides, Malfoy doesn't know about the Invisibility Cloak. Don't worry, Elizabeth, we'll be fine."

Elizabeth wasn't all that reassured. Especially when Saturday came, Elizabeth kept getting an odd feeling in her stomach. She didn't tell the others. She didn't want them telling her she was just worrying over nothing. And that's all it was. She was just worrying.

She knew Harry and Hermione would let her know how it went when they got back to their common room that night. She sat up in the common room with the little mirror, waiting. She kept glancing at it, but all she ever saw was black. The mirror was probably in Harry's trunk in his dormitory.

Elizabeth must have eventually fallen asleep. She just knew one minute, she had been curled up in one of the overstuffed armchairs in her common room, and the next, Lewis was shaking her shoulder. She slowly blinked awake, her glasses askew on her face and she straightened them quickly.

"What time is it?" she asked.

"Seven," Lewis said, "What're you doing in here? Did you sleep in here all night?"

"It's morning?" Elizabeth asked. She looked quickly at her mirror, seeing it was still black. Did Harry try to update her, but she was asleep and he couldn't wake her up?

"Is everything okay, Liz?" Lewis asked.

"Yeah, fine," Elizabeth said quickly, and she hoped it wouldn't be a lie as she hurried past her brother on into the girl's dormitories. She got changed quickly, brushing through her hair in a rush before hurrying from the common room. Maybe she could catch Harry and Hermione at breakfast...

As Elizabeth entered the entrance hall, she stumbled to a stop. The four hourglasses of gems showing the House points was very different than the night before. Gryffindor, who had been in the lead the day before, was now in last place.

Elizabeth had a sinking feeling that something _had_ happened the night before...Hermione and Harry, were they okay? They hadn't been expelled, had they?

"Elizabeth!"

Elizabeth spun around, feeling relieved when she saw Harry and Hermione coming out of the Great Hall, toast in hand. She rushed over to them and fought the urge to hug them both.

"What happened?" she asked quickly, "Are you okay? You weren't expelled, were you?"

"No, we're not expelled," Harry said, "Come on, let's go visit Ron, then we'll explain everything."

Elizabeth nodded, taking the toast Harry offered and they ate on it while walking up to the hospital wing. The entire time, Elizabeth's mind was racing. Something had happened last night, and she didn't like not knowing what it was. Still, she waited patiently until they were at the hospital wing and gathered around Ron's bed.

"Norbert's on his way to Romania," Harry explained in a whisper, "But we were caught. We forgot the Cloak at the top of the Astronomy tower, and Filch caught us..."

"Neville had heard what we were doing and he tried to warn us," Hermione said in a weak voice, "He got caught, too."

"Professor McGonagall took away the points," Harry said with a frown, "And we all have detention."

"A hundred and fifty points in one night," Elizabeth said, shaking her head. Being a Hufflepuff, the loss didn't affect her like it did the others, "That has to be a record."

"Thanks, Elizabeth," Harry muttered sarcastically. She felt her face start burning.

"Sorry," she said, "I didn't think."

"It's okay," Harry said, "If anything, this has taught me to stop getting involved in things that don't concern me."

"Exactly what I've been thinking all along," Elizabeth said, glad to see Harry finally agreed, "We should just leave this up to Dumbledore. He knows what he's doing."

It wasn't long before the story got out how Gryffindor went from first place to last place overnight. Well, not the whole story. It was never known about the dragon. Yet everyone knew that whatever had happened, it was the fault of Harry Potter and a couple other Gryffindor first years. It wasn't just the Gryffindors avoiding Harry now, though. Ravenclaws, and even Elizabeth's own House, were avoiding him. Susan and Hannah both asked Elizabeth how she could still be friends with Harry, after he ruined the chances of Slytherin finally not getting the House Cup for the first time in seven years. Elizabeth replied Harry was her friend, she wasn't going to turn her back on him. They left the subject alone after that.

At least Elizabeth had studying for her exams to distract her. Every spare second was in the library now, pouring over notes and texts, trying to cram as much information as possible for the ever-approaching exams. She was currently next to Hermione, reading and re-reading her Defense Against the Dark Arts notes, while Hermione quizzed Ron on Astronomy, when Harry suddenly came rushing over, dropping down into the chair across from Elizabeth.

"I just overheard Quirrell," Harry said in a whisper, not even greeting them "He's given in. He's going to tell Snape everything he knows."

"Snape's done it, then!" Ron said, "If Quirrell's told him how to break his Anti-Dark Force spell—"

"There's still Fluffy, though," Hermione cut in.

"And he probably already knows how to get past the thing," Elizabeth said, "Hagrid's our friend, but...We were able to find out a lot by just flattering him. I doubt it'd take much for Snape to get information about Fluffy from him."

"So what do we do, Harry?" Ron asked excitedly, leaning forward. Elizabeth pursed her lips as she realized Ron seemed very eager for adventure.

"We don't do anything," Elizabeth said, "Except maybe go to Dumbledore. Honestly, we should have done that from the start. This isn't our problem, we're just a bunch of first years."

"Exactly," Harry said, "We're first years. That's why we can't go to Dumbledore. We have no proof. Quirrell's too scared to back us up. Snape's only got to say he doesn't know how the troll got in at Halloween and that he was nowhere near the third floor—who do you think they'll believe, him or us? It's not exactly a secret we hate him, Dumbledore'll think we made it up to get him sacked. Filch wouldn't help us if his life depended on it, he's too friendly with Snape, and the more students get thrown out, the better, he'll think. And don't forget, we're not supposed to know about the Stone or Fluffy. That'll take a lot of explaining."

Elizabeth nodded slowly. Harry had a point there.

"So we do nothing," she said, "We stay out of it. Leave it to the teachers."

"If we just do a bit of poking around—" Ron started.

"No," Harry cut in, "We've done enough poking around."

Finally. They were seeing sense. Elizabeth couldn't be more pleased, as she turned back to her Defense Against the Dark Arts work. They were going to leave this to the teachers. To Dumbledore. Like they should have been doing all along.

**xxxxx**

The following day was the day Hermione, Harry, and Neville would have detention. Elizabeth bade them goodbye after dinner and Ron headed up to the Gryffindor common room, while Elizabeth went to the Hufflepuff one. She settled down to work on some more studying, curled up in a plush arm chair. Lewis was nearby, playing Wizard Snap with Cedric, though Elizabeth could see he kept glancing over at her. Ever since the story got out about Harry, he'd started keeping an eye on her more again, as if she'd been caught out of bounds as well.

Slowly, though, the common room emptied out as people went to bed. Elizabeth watched until she was sure everyone was gone, then went and grabbed her mirror and came back to the common room, not wanting to wake up her roommates. She curled back up into the armchair she'd been in earlier, and checked the clock. It was nearly midnight. Her friends' detention started at eleven. Would they be back by now?

Apparently not. It was at least another hour and Elizabeth was starting to doze off in her chair before she heard her name. She jerked awake, looking around expecting to see one of her Housemates had come in. It wasn't until she heard her name again before she realized it was Harry's voice. She turned, snatching up her mirror and holding it up, seeing Harry in the glass. He seemed to be pacing—the background behind him kept moving—and his face was a bit dirty and pale.

"Harry? What's wrong?" Elizabeth asked, sitting up a bit more, "Did something happen during detention? Are you okay? What about Hermione? Neville?"

"We're all fine," Harry said, "Hermione and I just got back. Neville went to bed, but Ron's here. I wanted to make sure you were awake, tell all of you at once."

"Tell us what?" Hermione's voice came from somewhere on the other side of the mirror.

"What happened," Harry said, still pacing. It was starting to make Elizabeth a little motion-sick, seeing the movement in the background, "We were going through the forest, and I started feeling my scar hurting..."

"Your scar hurt?" Elizabeth asked, "I didn't know it could hurt, it's just a scar, right?"

"I don't think so," Harry said, "It hurt before, our first day here at Hogwarts. But that's not the point. My scar was hurting in the forest, and...Well, I think I saw Voldemort tonight."

Elizabeth winced at the name, tensing up a little. She hated hearing that name...

"He was cloaked, but he was drinking blood from a dead unicorn," Harry went on and Elizabeth felt sick at the thought. Slaying a unicorn...It was unthinkable. "He saw me. He came at me, but this centaur, Firenze, saved me. He told me about how Voldemort's after the Philosopher's Stone."

Elizabeth went cold. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was dead...Wasn't he? He had to be. He was killed years ago, when a spell to kill Harry backfired. No, he couldn't still be alive...He just couldn't be...

"He...What about Snape?" Elizabeth asked weakly. It had to be Snape who was after the Philosopher's Stone. Not He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named.

"Snape wants the Stone for Voldemort," Harry said, and Elizabeth winced at the name again, "And Voldemort's waiting in the forest...And all this time we thought Snape just wanted to get rich..."

"Stop saying the name!" Ron's voice came from somewhere on the other side. Elizabeth couldn't help but agree. Why couldn't Harry just say "You-Know-Who"?

"Firenze saved me, but he shouldn't have done so," Harry went on, Elizabeth could see on his face that he probably wasn't even hearing anything Ron said, "But he shouldn't have done so...Bane was furious..."

"Bane?" Elizabeth asked.

"Another centaur," came Hermione's voice when Harry didn't answer. In fact, Harry was talking over them as if they hadn't spoke at all.

"...He was talking about interfering with what the planets say is going to happen...They must show that Voldemort's coming back...Bane thinks Firenze should have let Voldemort kill me...I suppose that's written in the stars as well."

"Please stop saying that name, Harry," Elizabeth said weakly, but Harry, yet again, didn't seem to hear.

"So all I've got to wait for now is Snape to steal the Stone. Then Voldemort will be able to come and finish me off...Well, I suppose Bane'll be happy."

"_Don't say that!_" Elizabeth said louder than she intended, her voice shrill.

It seemed that finally snapped Harry out of it. He had stopped pacing and was staring at Elizabeth now through the mirror, though he was shaking—no, not him. Elizabeth was shaking. Her hands were shaking, holding the mirror tightly. She felt so sick right now. The idea of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was out there...That he could come back...

Elizabeth thought of her father, the father she never knew. Because of the Death Eaters. Because of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. Of her mother's face when she told stories, with such sadness, about the husband she lost...Of the times she sneaked into the hallway, overhearing her mother and aunt talking about the war, the fear in their voices, despite the fact the war was over...

She didn't want to believe it. Harry had to be mistaken. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named could not be back. He just couldn't.

"Harry..." Hermione's voice came from out of sight, speaking softly, and Elizabeth watched as Harry turned to look away from the mirror, "Everyone says Dumbledore's the only one You-Know-Who was ever afraid of. With Dumbledore around, You-Know-Who won't touch you. Anyway, who says the centaurs are right? It sounds like fortune-telling to me, and Professor McGonagall says that's a very imprecise branch of magic."

They were quiet for some time, all sitting there, taking in what had happened. Elizabeth still refused to believe it. The centaurs were wrong. He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was not returning. He just couldn't be.

The sky outside began to lighten, and they all agreed they needed sleep. Elizabeth bade them goodnight, then went on to her dormitory, hoping she'd be able to sleep without nightmares.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

_**Chapter Fourteen:**_

Harry seemed determined to believe that something was going on, that his trip to the forest meant they should be worried. Elizabeth, however, would rather forget it. She put her full focus on her exams. As they started, Elizabeth didn't spend much time talking with Harry, Ron, and Hermione despite the fact she was always with them between classes. All their time was spent studying. Going through their practical exams, as well as written. A long hour of questions in History of Magic. Making a Forgetfulness Potion in Potions. Making fruit dance for Charms. Mapping out stars for Astronomy. Doing replanting in Herbology.

Her last day of exams, Elizabeth woke up feeling sick, to the point she nearly threw up. As the day went on the sick feeling went away, but it was replaced by a feeling of dread. And she had no idea why.

When she asked Lewis about it, he said it was just exams. They were nearly over, and Elizabeth was realizing it was out of her hands now. It could mess with her nerves a lot.

So Elizabeth tried to ignore it as she went through her day, and her final exam, Transfiguration, where she had to turn a mouse into a snuffbox.

She actually did quite well with it. The snuffbox was quite plain, no designs or anything. But at least it didn't squeak. It didn't have whiskers or fur. Elizabeth felt quite happy with her go as she left the Transfiguration classroom, stretching her arms over her head as she headed down the stairs. She soon found Harry, Ron, and Hermione coming from History of Magic, their last exam, and they decided to go outside and enjoy sunshine for once.

"I am so glad all this is over," Elizabeth said, flopping down in the grass and leaning back on her elbows, staring up at the tree above them. They'd stopped by a nice, shady spot along the edge of the lake. Elizabeth had to admit, listening to the shallow wake coming off from the giant squid nearby was nice. Even though that sickening feeling of dread wouldn't quite go away...

"No more studying," Ron agreed, quite happy himself, "You could look more cheerful, Harry, we've got a week before we find out how badly we've done, there's no need to worry yet."

Elizabeth looked over at Harry, who was rubbing his forehead. He'd been complaining about his scar a lot lately. Ever since the detention he had.

"I wish I knew what this _means_!" Harry snapped, "My scar keeps hurting—it's happened before, but never as often as this."

"Go to Madam Pomfrey," Hermione said.

"I'm not ill. I think it's a warning...It means danger's coming..."

Elizabeth's stomach tightened. She suddenly became keenly aware of that dread feeling she'd been trying to ignore.

"Harry, relax," Ron cut in, "Hermione's right, the Stone's safe as long as Dumbledore's around."

"Yeah, good point," Elizabeth said. So why wouldn't her feeling go away? "Even if Snape figures out how to get past everything else, he wouldn't try anything with Dumbledore here."

"I just feel like I've forgotten something important," Harry said.

"That's just the exams," Hermione said, "I woke up last night and was halfway through my Transfiguration notes before I remembered we'd done that one."

"If it makes you feel better, Harry, I've been doing similar," Elizabeth said, "Woke up sick this morning, and have been feeling off all day. Lewis told me the same as Hermione. It's just nerves over the exams."

Harry looked a little better at that, staring up at the sky where an owl flew overhead. Elizabeth thought it was a bit odd, they only came through at night. Or early morning.

Harry suddenly jumped to his feet, startling Elizabeth.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I've just thought of something," Harry said, looking pale, "We've got to go and see Hagrid, now."

Harry didn't wait for a response. He took off across the grounds. Elizabeth scampered to her feet with Ron and Hermione and took off after Harry.

"Don't you think it's a bit odd that what Hagrid wants more than anything is a dragon," Harry panted as they ran, "And a stranger turns up who just happens to have an egg in his pocket? How many people wander around with dragon eggs if they're against wizard law? Lucky they found Hagrid, don't you think? Why didn't I see it before?"

Elizabeth had a sinking feeling about that. Harry was right. Dragon eggs were illegal, and someone who just happened to have one, just happened to find the one person who'd want it. That was just too much of a coincidence.

They all stumbled to a stop at Hagrid's hut, where he was sitting outside, shelling peas in the warm afternoon.

"Finished yer exams?" Hagrid asked with a grin, "Got time fer a drink?"

"No, we're in a hurry," Harry said, "Hagrid, I've got to ask you something. You know that night you won Norbert? What did the stranger you were playing cards with look like?"

"Dunno. He wouldn' take his cloak off."

Elizabeth looked over at the others. That didn't sound good...

"It's not that unusual," Hagrid said, "Yeh get a lot of funny folk in the Hog's Head—that's one o' the pubs down in the village. Mighta bin a dragon dealer, mightn' he? I never saw his face, he kept his hood up."

Harry looked like he was about to pass out. Elizabeth reached out, taking his arm to help steady him. He gave her a grateful look before turning back to Hagrid.

"What did you talk to him about, Hagrid?" Harry asked, "Did you mention Hogwarts at all?"

"Mighta come up," Hagrid said. He frowned for a second, then shrugged. "Yeah...he asked what I did, an' I told him I was gamekeeper here...He asked a bit about the sorta creatures I look after...so I told him...an' I said what I'd always really wanted was a dargon...an' then...I can' remember too well, 'cause he kept buyin' me drinks..."

'_Trying to get you drunk so you'd talk,'_ Elizabeth thought. Why did she have to be right about how easy it was to get information from Hagrid?

"Let's see...yeah, then he said he had the dragon egg an' we could play cards fer it if I wanted...but he had ter be sure I could handle it, he didn' want it ter go ter any old home...So I told him, after Fluffy, a dragon would be easy..."

"Did he show interest in Fluffy?" Elizabeth asked quietly.

"Well—yeah," Hagrid said, "How many three-headed dogs d'yeh meet, even around Hogwarts? So I told him, Fluffy's a piece o' cake if yeh know how to calm him down, jus' play him a bit o' music an' he'll go straight off ter sleep—"

Hagrid suddenly straightened, his face paling. He didn't get to say anything, though, because Harry had taken off towards the castle, Elizabeth, Hermione, and Ron close behind. They rushed into the entrance hall, where they stopped finally, catching their breath.

"We've got to go to Dumbledore," Harry said instantly, "Hagrid told that stranger how to get past Fluffy, and it was either Snape or Voldemort—" Elizabeth and Ron both winced at the name. "—under that cloak."

"I said before that as much as Hagrid seems to try, it seems really easy to get information from him," Elizabeth said sadly, "I'm sure getting him drunk really helped."

"I just hope Dumbledore believes us," Harry said, "Firenze might back us up if Banes doesn't stop him. Where's Dumbledore's office?"

"I have no idea..." Elizabeth said slowly, looking around.

"We'll just have to—"

"What are you three doing inside?"

Elizabeth jumped a bit, spinning around to see Professor McGonagall had come up near them with an armful of books. Elizabeth swallowed and resisted the urge to try and hide behind her friends. Or dash for the Hufflepuff common room. She remembered Professor McGonagall's face during Halloween. She wasn't eager to repeat that.

"We want to see Professor Dumbledore," Hermione said quite bravely.

"See Professor Dumbledore?" Professor McGonagall stared at them with a look that made Elizabeth uneasy, as if the teacher could sense they were up to something, "Why?"

"It's sort of a secret," Harry said. Professor McGonagall's face hardened and this time, Elizabeth did duck behind Harry, glancing around his shoulder at their teacher.

"Professor Dumbledore left ten minutes ago," Professor McGonagall said, "He received an urgent owl from the Ministry of Magic and flew off to London at once."

"He left?" Elizabeth squeaked, "He's gone?"

"Professor Dumbledore is a very great wizard, Miss Martin, he has many demands on his time—"

"But this is important!"

"Something you have to say is more important than the Minister of Magic, Potter?"

"Look," Harry said, straightening up some, "Professor—It's about the Philosopher's Stone—"

Professor McGonagall's eyes widened and the books slipped from her arms, all crashing to the floor. If Elizabeth wasn't so terrified of her Transfiguration teacher getting angry, she might have found it amusing.

"How do you know—"

"Professor, I think—I _know_—that Sn—that someone's going to try and steal the Stone," Harry said quickly, "I've got to talk to Professor Dumbledore."

Professor McGonagall just stared at them. Elizabeth forced herself to step out from behind Harry and straightened her back, staring back.

"Professor Dumbledore will be back tomorrow. I don't know how you found out about the Stone, but rest assured, no one can possible steal it, it's too well protected."

"But Professor—"

"Potter, I know what I'm talking about," Professor McGonagall cut him off, starting to pick up her books, "I suggest you all go back outside and enjoy the sunshine."

Professor McGonagall turned and left, leaving the four behind. Elizabeth turned back to her friends, where Harry was leaning over closer to them.

"It's tonight," he whispered, "Snape's going through the trapdoor tonight. He's found out everything he needs, and now he's got Dumbledore out of the way. He sent that note, I bet the Ministry of Magic will get a real shock when Dumbledore turns up."

"But what can we—"

"Good afternoon."

Elizabeth let out a squeak, jumping slightly as she spun around. Snape was standing behind them, studying them coolly.

"You shouldn't be inside on a day like this," he said, "Hanging around like this, people will think you're up to something. And Gryffindor really can't afford to lose any more points, can it? Or Hufflepuff, or would you like them to trade last place with the Gryffindors?"

Elizabeth felt her face growing warm as she turned to follow her friends to the door.

"Be warned, Potter," Snape called after them, "Any more nighttime wanderings and I will personally make sure you are expelled. Good day to you."

Snape turned, heading off, leaving the four along again. Harry turned back to the others, just at the front door of the castle.

"Right, here's what we've got to do," he said quietly, "One of us has got to keep an eye on Snape—wait outside the staff room and follow him if he leaves it. Hermione, you'd better do that."

"Why me?"

"It's obvious," Ron said, smirking a little, "You can pretend to be waiting for Professor Flitwick." Ron used a bit of a mocking female voice. "'Oh Professor Flitwick, I'm so worried, I think I got question fourteen b wrong!'"

"Oh shut up," Hermione said.

"It's a good idea though, "Elizabeth said, "We'll meet up near the library, in case something happens."

Hermione nodded, heading off.

"And we'd better stay outside the third-floor corridor," Harry said, starting off. Ron and Elizabeth followed.

Once they reached the corridor, Elizabeth suddenly wished she had been with Hermione. McGonagall apparently had suspected they'd be up to something, because she was already there. And she was terrifyingly angry.

"I suppose you think you're harder to get past than a pack of enchantments! Enough of this nonsense! If I hear you've come anywhere near here again, I'll take fifty points from both Hufflepuff and Gryffindor! Yes, Weasley, my own House!"

Elizabeth was far too happy to take off at a sprint to get away from McGonagall. They ran all the way to the meeting point at an empty classroom near the library.

"At least Hermione's on Snape's tail," Harry said.

As if on cue, the door opened and Hermione rushed in.

"I'm so sorry, Harry! Snape came out and asked me what I was doing, so I said I was waiting for Professor Flitwick, and Snape went to get him, and I've only just got away, I don't know where Snape went."

"What do we do now?" Elizabeth asked softly. They were a bunch of first years. There was nothing they could do.

"I'm going out tonight and I'm going to try and get to the Stone first."

Elizabeth's eyes widened and she just stared at Harry in disbelief. Was he mental?

"You can't!" Hermione said, "After what McGonagall and Snape have said? You'll be expelled!"

"SO WHAT?" Harry was shouting now and Elizabeth squeaked, tensing a little, "Don't you understand? If Snape gets hold of the Stone, Voldemort's coming back! Haven't you heard what it was like when he was trying to take over? There won't be any Hogwarts to get expelled from! He'll flatten it, or turn it into a school for the Dark Arts! Losing points doesn't matter anymore, can't you see? D'you think he'll leave you and your families alone if Gryffindor wings the House Cup? Or Hufflepuff? If I get caught before I can get to the Stone, well, I'll have to go back to the Dursleys and wait for Voldemort to find me there, it's only dying a little bit later than I would have, because I'm never going over to the Dark Side! I'm going through that trapdoor tonight and nothing you can say is going to stop me! Voldemort killed my parents, remember?"

Harry was glaring. Elizabeth felt so small now, staring at him. That feeling of dread was growing stronger. Was it because she knew what was about to happen? Because she knew they were a group of first years, about to do something stupid and dangerous?

"I'll use my Invisibility Cloak," Harry said, "It's just lucky I got it back."

"I'm c-coming with you," Elizabeth said softly, hoping she sounded a lot braver than she felt.

"What?" Harry croaked, staring at Elizabeth with wide eyes.

"Oh come off it," Ron said, "You don't think we'd let you go alone?"

"Of course not," Hermione added, "How do you think you'd get the Stone without us? I'd better go look through my books, there might be something useful..."

"But if we get caught, you three will be expelled too."

"Not if I can help it," Hermione said, straightening herself up, "Flitwick told me in secret that I got a hundred and twelve percent on his exam. They're not throwing me out after that."

"All the teachers have worked on this," Elizabeth said, looking over at Hermione, "How about we divide and conquer?"

"Sounds good," Hermione said with a nod, "You can take Herbology. I'll take Defense Against the Dark Arts and Potions. Harry, Ron, can you can take Charms and Transfiguration."

Elizabeth was about to say she'd be better with Transfiguration, but Hermione had already hurried from the room.

"Where should we meet?" Elizabeth asked, "I don't have an Invisibility Cloak."

"Can you hide in the entrance hall?" Harry asked, "There's a broom closet, or maybe hide behind the stairs or something? We'll come down and get you."

Elizabeth tensed a little. The idea of hiding in a small, enclosed space was not appealing. She took a deep breath and nodded, however.

"I'll see you then," she said, heading out of the room and straight down to her common room, grabbing her Herbology book and starting to go through it.

She spent the rest of the afternoon in that corner, reading passage after passage on magical plants, constantly checking the time. Waiting for the common room to empty. It was nearly eleven before it finally did, and Elizabeth put her book to the side, standing up and hoping she could remember all she read as she hurried towards the common room entrance.

"And where do you think you're going?"

Elizabeth yelped and spun around, her heart dropping.

Lewis was standing at the entrance to the boys' dormitories, his arms crossed over his chest.

* * *

**A/N:** Sorry to leave you with this little cliffhanger, but there will not be an update on Monday. I will be having oral surgery that day, and will be recovering and most likely sleeping all day. I don't know if I will update Wednesday, it all depends on how I feel by then.


	15. Chapter Fifteen

_**Chapter Fifteen:**_

"Lewis!" Elizabeth's voice squeaked, her heart pounding in her chest, "I thought you went to bed!"

"You really think I gave up making sure you'd stay out of trouble?" Lewis asked, "Really, Liz, you're sitting in here reading your Herbology book when exams are over. That's like waving a flag that reads 'I'm up to something!'"

Elizabeth flushed brightly at that.

"I...I can't explain right now," she said weakly, "Just trust me, this is important."

"You're going to get expelled. I'm not letting you leave."

Elizabeth was shaking a little. She glanced over her shoulder. The door was right behind her, but what would happen if she dashed for it? Lewis was fast, he'd probably catch her first...

She pursed her lips as she realized what she needed to do. And she hated it. Especially since she didn't know if she could even do the spell. Slowly, she slipped her hand in her pocket, gripping her wand.

"I have to do this, Lewis," she said, "I'm sorry, but I have to...Please don't tell anyone."

"You don't have to do anything," Lewis said, "Except go back to b—"

"_Locomotor Mortis_!" Elizabeth cried, yanking out her wand, pointing it at her brother's legs.

Lewis gave a yelp, hoping a bit before he fell backwards on the ground.

"I'm so sorry, Lewis!" Elizabeth said again, "I'll explain later!"

She turned and dashed out of the common room before her brother could have a chance to use a counter curse and come after her.

'_Merlin, I hope he doesn't hate me,'_ Elizabeth thought, looking over her shoulder at the barrels.

Elizabeth turned away from them, hurrying on along the corridor and up the stairs into the entrance hall, where she ducked into an alcove near the stairs, peering out. The entrance hall was quiet, it was eerie. Once, she saw one of the ghosts coming by and she flattened herself in the alcove, her heart pounding. Was it just her imagination, or was her feeling of dread she'd had all day growing stronger?

"Elizabeth."

She jumped, clamping her hands over her mouth to keep from crying out. Slowly, she edged out of the alcove a little, looking around.

"Harry?" she called in a whisper, "Is that you?"

Harry's head suddenly appeared, floating in mid-air just a few feet away. Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief and hurried over, ducking under the Cloak as Harry lifted it up. She noticed Harry had a wooden flute gripped in his hands.

"I've been waiting ages," she whispered.

"Sorry, we ran into Peeves," Harry whispered, "Come on."

Elizabeth nodded, keeping close to her friends as they moved along. Somehow, cramped under the Cloak, Elizabeth didn't feel closed in at all. Maybe it was because she could see through the Cloak around them.

They slowly made their way back up to the third floor, soon reaching the room Fluffy was in. Elizabeth swallowed when she saw the door was open. Snape was already there.

"If you want to go back," Harry whispered, looking at the other three, "I won't blame you."

"We're coming," Hermione and Elizabeth chorused as Ron said "Don't be stupid."

Harry nodded, turning and pushing the door on open and they slowly moved inside.

Elizabeth gasped, her eyes widening in horror. She'd heard the others talk about Fluffy, but this was the first time she'd actually seen him. He was a towering, three-headed dog. Each of those heads looked incredibly mean and nasty. She understood exactly why this was a good protection. Fluffy, despite a cute name, was _terrifying_. And all three of those heads were sniffing at the air, as if he knew there were four first years, just waiting to be a tasty snack.

"What's that at its feet?" Hermione whispered. Elizabeth didn't dare take her eyes off the dog to look.

"Looks like a harp," Ron whispered, "Snape must have left it there."

"It must wake up the moment you stop playing," Harry said, "Well, here it goes..."

Elizabeth heard random notes, that sounded much like owls, and the dog almost immediately started bobbing his head, lowering more and more until each head was on the ground, snoring.

"Keep playing," Ron whispered as they slipped out from under the Cloak and Elizabeth followed the others to a trap door nearby. Elizabeth's hair kept flying in her face, blown there from the dog's breath.

"I think we'll be able to pull it open," Ron said, "Want to go first, Hermione?"

"No, I don't!" Hermione squeaked.

"I-I will," Elizabeth said weakly. The others looked at her, Harry still playing the wooden flute, "Someone has to, and I'd rather it be me. I'm smaller, lighter. Whatever's down there, it might weaken each time someone goes down. Better someone light first, to make sure."

The others nodded slowly, though none seemed reassured by what she had said. Ron pulled opened the trap door, however, and Elizabeth went over, staring down into the darkness.

"What can you see?" Hermione asked.

"Can't see a thing," Elizabeth said, her heart pounding. She slowly sat on the floor, dangling her legs over the edge, her hands braced to shove herself off and down.

"Okay," Elizabeth said with a deep breath, "Here goes nothing."

She squeezed her eyes tightly shut and shoved off, feeling wind whipping through her clothes and hair. She screamed as she fell, immediately wishing she hadn't been the one to go first—

THUMP.

Elizabeth stopped screaming, scrambling to her feet and hurrying to the edge of the room, her heart pounding. After that fall, she needed to get moving.

"Elizabeth! Are you okay?"

Elizabeth looked up to the ceiling. She could barely see a small light above them.

"I'm fine!" she called up, "Landing's safe! Come on down!"

Elizabeth heard the music stop for a second, then after a few more seconds, Harry landed in the mob of plants in front of Elizabeth. Followed by Ron, then Hermione.

"We must be miles under the school," Hermione said in awe.

"Lucky this plant thing's here, really," Ron said.

Elizabeth's eyes widened and she gave a shriek.

"Look at you three!" she cried, backing away. She watched as plants were wrapping around their legs, pinning all three of her friends down.

"This is Devil's Snare!" Hermione cried, fighting to try and untangle her legs. At the same time, the vines were wrapping around Harry's chest.

"Devil's Snare, I read about this earlier!" Elizabeth said. She had to keep calm. That was a big thing for a healer. Remaining calm in the face of panic. Remaining calm and thinking things through, quickly.

What was it that she read? They liked damp, moist areas. Dark areas. Like this cavern...

"HURRY UP!" Ron cried, the vines wrapping up his arms now.

"All right, all right!" Elizabeth squeaked. Fire. That's what she needed. She pulled out her wand, calling out a spell she'd seen her mother use countless times on the fireplace. Immediately, the Devil's Snare was loosening its grip on her friends and Harry, Ron, and Hermione rushed away from the vines.

"Thanks, Elizabeth, you saved our lives," Harry said.

Elizabeth grinned, blushing brightly.

"Come on, I think it's this way," Harry said, pointing to a passageway nearby. He started off and the others followed.

Elizabeth kept close to Harry as they made their way down the corridor. Thoughts were starting to enter her head now. They were miles underground. They had no way out. Was it just her, or were the walls getting narrower? The passageway getting tighter?

She hated this. Why had she agreed to do this? Her heart was racing, she felt sweaty. She was breathing a bit harder now. It was the air, it was hard to breathe...They were trapped down here...Why didn't she think about this before she jumped down through the trap door?

Elizabeth felt a hand on her arm and she jumped. She looked over to see Harry watching her as they walked.

"Are you okay?" he whispered.

"I don't like being underground," Elizabeth whispered back. Harry looked concerned, but they didn't get a chance to say more. There was some noise up ahead, something that reminded Elizabeth a bit of wind chimes, or birds...

"Sounds like wings," Hermione said behind them.

"There's light up ahead—I can see something moving."

Elizabeth edged along with the others, and they soon entered a very large, very spacious chamber that was also quite brightly lit. Elizabeth took a deep breath. This was much better. She felt like she could breathe here. She didn't feel quite so closed in and she could almost pretend they weren't underground.

She looked up, her eyes widening in awe. Above them were hundreds of what looked like flying jewels, wings flapping wildly and the light sending rainbows of colors off of them.

"Do you think they'll attack us if we cross the room?" Ron asked.

"Probably," Harry said, "They don't look very vicious, but I suppose if they all swooped down and attacked at once...Well, there's no other choice...I'll run."

"G-good luck, Harry," Elizabeth said. She still felt a bit jittery from their walk through the tight tunnel.

Harry nodded, taking a deep breath before dashing across the room, his arms over his face. Elizabeth held her breath the entire time, then sighed in relief when he was fine. She looked over at Hermione and Ron before they, too, took off across the room to catch up with Harry.

Unfortunately, the door on the other end was locked. Nothing they could do would unlock it, not even when Hermione tried Alohomora.

"Something's not right," Elizabeth said, looking around, "There has to be a way through."

"These birds..." Hermione was looking up, "They can't be here just for decoration."

"They're not birds! They're _keys_!" Harry cried, "Winged keys—look carefully."

Elizabeth squinted, staring up above them. Sure enough, she saw the narrow shapes between the wings. They were keys. Flying keys.

"Look! Broomsticks!" Harry cried and Elizabeth turned to see a set of brooms nearby, "We've got to catch the key to the door!"

"But there are _hundreds_ of them!" Hermione cried.

"We're looking for a big, old-fashioned one," Ron said, leaning closer to the locked door, "Probably silver, like the handle."

Elizabeth nodded, looking back up to the keys before going over to the brooms nearby, grabbing one and taking off into the air. It was clear this broom was old. It kept swaying from side to side, or tilting on Elizabeth. She kept having to fight it to keep it going straight.

"Does anyone see the key?" Elizabeth called. There were so many different keys flying around, how could they pick out the exact right one?

"That one!" Harry called, pointing, "The big one—there—no, there—with the bright blue wings—the feathers are all crumpled on one side."

Elizabeth looked up, squinting through the glints and, sure enough, she saw the key. It had an odd sort of flutter, obviously unable to fly straight with a bent wing.

"All right, how do we get it?" Elizabeth called back.

"We've got to close in on it!" Harry said, "Ron, you come at it from above, Hermione, stay below and stop it from going down. Elizabeth, stay to the left, keep it from darting away. I'll try and catch it. Right, NOW!"

Elizabeth pushed forward, driving the key towards Ron and Hermione, who were shooting towards each other. A second later, Harry had snatched the key, pinning it too the wall.

"YES!" Elizabeth cried out in joy, throwing her arms in the air. Unfortunately, at the same time, her broom decided it wanted to tilt. Elizabeth let out a scream as she was thrown from the broom, feeling air rush past her...

She thought she saw flashing colors. Or maybe it was the keys above her. All she knew was the wind was knocked from her. Pain rushed through her entire body. Then everything went back.

* * *

**A/N:** I'm back! My surgery went well and I'm recovering fine. So, there will be an update tomorrow and Friday as well. There are only two more chapters left, so I'd like to get them both up by the end of the week. Enjoy!


	16. Chapter Sixteen

_**Chapter Sixteen:**_

"Elizabeth! Come on, Elizabeth. Wake up. Wake up!"

Elizabeth groaned. Her entire body was sore. Her left arm especially hurt...

"Thank heavens. She's stirring."

Elizabeth slowly opened her eyes. Everything was blurred in front of her. Or above her? She was on her back, she knew that much. Her shoulder, down her entire arm, on her left side was throbbing with pain.

"Here, your glasses."

Elizabeth blinked a little as everything came into focus. She was staring up at thousands of glittering objects far above her. Where was she? Who was talking?

Then, all at once, it came back to her. The trap door. The Devil's Snare. The flying keys. Falling from her broom.

She bolted up, then screamed and leaned forward, her right hand going over her left shoulder. Tears went down her cheek and her vision was swimming. She was afraid she'd black out again.

"Elizabeth!"

She looked up. Hermione and Ron were crouched in front of her. Ron had a cut on the side of his head. It looked like it had been bleeding, but had stopped by now. Elizabeth immediately started looking around, noticing there was someone missing.

"Where's Harry?" she asked weakly, trying to ignore the pain in her arm.

"He went on ahead," Hermione said, "You fell off your broom..."

"Yeah, I remember that," Elizabeth said, "What happened? You're hurt, Ron."

"It's nothing," Ron said, his ears going red.

"It's not nothing, you were incredibly brave!" Hermione said, then to Elizabeth, "We couldn't wake you up after you fell. We're sorry, we had to go on...We made sure you were safe and..."

"Don't worry about it," Elizabeth said. The pain was really bad, she was finding it a little hard to breathe, but she wanted to know what had happened...Hermione, however, had other plans.

"We'll explain later," she said, "Come on, we should get you to the hospital wing."

"How...How're we going to get out of here?" Elizabeth asked weakly.

"The brooms," Ron said, "We'll fly out, up through the trap door and past Fluffy."

"I'm not going to be able to fly," Elizabeth muttered, looking down to her arm. Even that little action hurt and her vision swam again.

"You can double with me," Ron said and Elizabeth nodded a little.

She wasn't quite sure what all happened next. As she got up, everything blackened around her, but she didn't quite pass out. It was all a blur, in and out. She remembered getting on the broom...Fluffy growling...The Invisibility Cloak thrown over them...Nearly falling on the stairs at one point...Lying in a bed, some potion being given to her...

And then warmth. Being soft and warm. No more pain in her shoulder. The sound of someone breathing nearby.

For a moment, Elizabeth wondered if everything that had happened the night before was a dream. If she was lying in her bed in her common room, exams over and everything perfectly normal...

Then she opened her eyes. Even through blurred vision, she knew she wasn't in her dormitory room. There was no canopy over her bed. Looking around, there were no homey, earthy designs. No personal posters. Instead, even without her glasses, she could tell she was in the hospital wing.

Slowly, Elizabeth sat up, finding her glasses on the nightstand and pushing them on. She looked around again, then was gripped by fear when she noticed Harry unconscious in a bed nearby.

"Good, you're awake."

Elizabeth looked over to see Madam Pomfrey coming over towards her.

"Harry, is Harry okay?" she asked quickly.

"He's fine, he just needs rest," Madam Pomfrey said, drawing closed the dividers around Harry's bed, "From what your friends said, you took quite the fall. You're lucky you only had a few broken bones."

Elizabeth looked down at her left arm, holding it up and flexing her fingers, stretching her arm out. It felt perfectly fine, but she wasn't surprised. Broken bones could be mended in minutes by a proper healer.

"Still, I want to keep you overnight," Madam Pomfrey said, "You can leave tomorrow morning."

Elizabeth groaned and sunk back against her pillows. She was hoping to be able to find Hermione and Ron. Her head was swimming with questions. What happened to them after she fell off her broom? What about Snape and the Stone? Was Harry able to stop him?

She looked towards where the curtain blocked her view from Harry. What happened to him? Was he really okay?

A few minutes later, Madam Pomfrey told Elizabeth she had a visitor. Elizabeth looked up eagerly, expecting Ron and Hermione. She had so many questions.

Instead, however, Elizabeth felt a bit sick. It was Lewis. Elizabeth couldn't tell if he was worried or angry, or maybe a bit of both, as he came over, sitting in a chair by the bed.

Elizabeth had no idea what to say. She just sat there, trying not to look at her brother too much, staring down at her hands.

"What the bloody hell were you thinking?" Lewis was the first to speak. Elizabeth didn't look up. She didn't answer. Partly because she just didn't know what to say.

"You _cursed_ me, Elizabeth!" Lewis said in a whisper, leaning closer, "Do you know how hard it was for me not to go to Professor Sprout? Or write Mum immediately? I don't want you expelled, but what were you thinking? What the hell happened?"

Elizabeth pursed her lips a little, again not saying anything, unable to look at her brother. Honestly, she wouldn't be surprised if she did end up expelled.

"I mean it, Elizabeth, what happened?" Lewis asked, "You curse me and take off wandering around the castle in the middle of the night, then next morning I find out you're in here and Professor Quirrell is gone—"

"Professor Quirrell?" Elizabeth looked up for the first time. Not Snape? Wasn't Snape the one after the Philosopher's Stone? Did Snape do something to him?

Lewis sat there for a moment, watching Elizabeth closely. It was clear now for her. He was worried. It really hit Elizabeth what they did the night before...How easily she could have been killed when she fell from that broom...Sure, she thought she was doing the right thing, but what would have happened if she had died?

"Honestly, Liz, what were you thinking?" Lewis asked with a sigh, shaking his head.

"We thought we were doing the right thing," Elizabeth whispered. She looked back up at Lewis, then gave a sigh herself and told him everything.

Well, not exactly _everything_. She didn't tell him specifically it was Snape they had been suspecting. Just that they thought 'one of the teachers' was up to something. But she told him everything else. How Harry, Ron, and Hermione had found out about Fluffy. How they found out about Nicolas Flamel and the Philosopher's Stone. How they knew it was being protected in the castle. How she sneaked out with her friends, because they thought 'the teacher' was going to try and get the Stone that night, how no teacher believed them.

She didn't go into details about all that happened in the obstacles. Just that they put Fluffy to sleep with a flute, managed to get through a plant, and how she hurt herself when they were trying to catch a flying key.

"I don't know what happened with the others after that," Elizabeth finished, her throat dry, "I was unconscious. I just remember vague things here and there, until I woke up here."

She didn't know how much time had passed, just her stomach was starting to growl a little. Lewis had been quiet the entire time, just listening. Elizabeth had no idea what was going through his mind. If he was going to write home...What was her mother going to say to all this?

"Do you realize how lucky you are to be alive?" Lewis finally spoke, staring at his sister. Elizabeth looked down at her hands and nodded.

"I'm going to have to write Mum," he said, "Even if I don't, Professor Sprout will." Elizabeth swallowed at that, glancing at Lewis, who was actually smiling a little. "I don't think she has to know everything, mind. I won't mention this Philosopher's Stone, or the three-headed dog and all. But I'm going to have to tell her something."

"You should tell her everything," she said weakly, "Mum'll find out somehow anyway."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Lewis said.

"I think that's enough time," Madam Pomfrey said, coming over with a tray of food, looking at Lewis, "You should head down to lunch. I'm sure everyone's back from the Quidditch match by now."

Elizabeth had completely forgotten that the final match of the season, Gryffindor versus Ravenclaw, was today. The fact her brother spent it up here with her...

"I'll be leaving tomorrow morning, Lewis," she said, "See you then."

Lewis nodded and headed out of the hospital wing, leaving Elizabeth to her lunch. Madam Pomfrey seemed to think Elizabeth might escape if unsupervised. She stayed within eyesight while Elizabeth ate, and apparently also thought that Elizabeth didn't need any more visitors. Not an hour after lunch, she could hear the Madam Pomfrey arguing with Hermione and Ron, who'd apparently come up to visit. They were refused, as were Hannah and Susan when they came by later. This left Elizabeth to sit alone on her bed all afternoon with no company, aside from Harry asleep out of sight nearby.

Elizabeth also noticed throughout the day that some story had to be going around Hogwarts. Students kept showing up, staring through the doors nearby. Madam Pomfrey kept shooing them off, only for more to return later. As well as the students, gifts of candy kept being placed on Harry's night stand. When students kept being turned away, they thought sending gifts would be better.

This led to one hilarious moment, when Ron's brothers Fred and George showed up with a toilet seat.

"No! Absolutely not! What are you thinking?"

"We thought he could use some cheering up!" one said—Elizabeth couldn't tell which, she'd only seen them a couple of times.

"What better than a nice toilet seat?" the other asked.

"Absolutely not! It's not sanitary! Take that away right now before I get Professor Dumbledore!"

They eventually did leave, though Elizabeth had wished Madam Pomfrey had let the toilet seat stay. It would have been definitely something to cheer Harry up, whenever it was he finally came to.

Again, Emily kept wondering what was it that happened after she fell from the broom...Ron and Hermione had told her they had gone on after she fell, and that at some point Harry had gone off on his own. Ron had gotten hurt at some point. What had happened?

Her only answers were in her friends. Harry was unconscious. Ron and Hermione weren't allowed to visit. Elizabeth had nothing to do but sit and stare at walls, watching the flow of students trying to get a look at Harry in the hospital wing bed next to hers.

She kept getting odd looks from those students when they saw her in there. After all, she was here next to Harry, and she was known to be one of his friends. They must have thought whatever was up with Harry, was with her too. She had a feeling she might end up unwantingly popular when she left the hospital wing the next day.

Dinner, like lunch, was eaten in bed. Elizabeth was starting to become restless by then, but she knew better than to try and argue with Madam Pomfrey. Besides, the longer she stayed in the hospital wing, the longer she could avoid facing the students who kept coming by.

Elizabeth found herself glad when Madam Pomfrey insisted she get some sleep. Despite doing nothing but lay in bed all day, Elizabeth felt tired. She settled back under the covers, putting her glasses on the nightstand before rolling over, finding herself staring at the divider hiding Harry from view.

'_I really hope you're okay, Harry,'_ Elizabeth thought, closing her eyes and slowly drifting off to sleep.


	17. Chapter Seventeen

_**Chapter Seventeen:**_

Elizabeth was released from the hospital wing after breakfast the following morning. Harry was still unconscious, which worried Elizabeth but Madam Pomfrey kept insisting Harry just needed rest. Elizabeth sighed as she headed out of the hospital wing, finding Ron and Hermione waiting just outside the door.

Hermione had hugged Elizabeth, and she awkwardly hugged her friend back before pulling away, about to ask them what happened, but the words never came. Her eyes had widened, staring past Hermione where Professor Dumbledore was coming up the corridor.

"Good morning, students," he said, "I'm glad to see you're doing better, Miss Martin. You were quite deeply asleep the last time I came by."

Elizabeth could only stare. Dumbledore had visited before?

'_He must have been checking up on Harry,'_ she thought, too shocked to speak.

"I'm sure you three have quite a bit to talk about," Dumbledore said, "I'll leave you to it, shall I?"

Dumbledore went on into the hospital wing and Elizabeth looked over at Hermione and Ron with wide eyes. She tried to ask them what he was doing here, but all she could do was open and close her mouth in shock.

"He came by yesterday morning," Hermione said, "Ron and I have been coming whenever we could, to try and check. We came by after the match, but Madam Pomfrey said you'd already had a visitor earlier and you needed rest."

"Lewis visited," Elizabeth said, starting down the corridor, "I think he came during the match."

"Gryffindor lost, by the way," Ron grumbled, "Ravenclaw creamed us."

Elizabeth didn't really care either way how the last match went. After all, she was neither a Ravenclaw or Gryffindor. At most, she'd want to see her friends do well, but she was also still more disappointed Hufflepuff hadn't made the finals.

"So, what happened after I got knocked out?" Elizabeth asked.

Thankfully, the castle was pretty deserted. The three stopped by a window, and Elizabeth could see most students were outside enjoying the sunshine. That was fine with her. After yesterday, she was sure she'd have people staring at her. That was the last thing she wanted.

"We made sure you were safe," Hermione said, "We pulled you over into a corner and made sure that you were okay, then we went on."

"The next room was this wicked giant chess set," Ron said excitedly, "We had to take place of the pieces and play our way across. It was brilliant!"

"I wouldn't call it that," Hermione said, making a face, "But Ron really was amazing. He led us through the match. We wouldn't have been able to win if it weren't for him."

"Yeah, well..." Ron rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, and Elizabeth noticed his ears were going a bit red, "I did what had to be done."

"He sacrificed himself so that Harry could get checkmate," Hermione said, sounding quite proud.

"You did?" Elizabeth turned to Ron with wide eyes.

Ron just shrugged as if it was no big deal, though Elizabeth couldn't help but notice he looked quite pleased with himself. She couldn't help but wonder if the school had found out about what went on in the chamber because Ron was telling the story. He seemed to really enjoy telling anyone he could about his accomplishments. Of course, with five older brothers, Elizabeth couldn't blame him.

"But what happened after that?" Elizabeth asked, looking to Hermione for the answer, "What happened after the chess match? Did Harry go on alone?"

"No," Hermione said, shaking her head, "We did the same with Ron, that we did with you. We pulled him to the side, made sure he was okay, and we had to go on."

"Seems like those obstacles were picking us off," Elizabeth muttered with a slight shiver.

"I guess in a way, it was," Hermione whispered, "We passed a knocked-out troll, then ended up in this room with potions and a riddle. It was quite simple to figure out, really, brilliant in its simplicity when you knew what to look for—"

"Any day now, Hermione," Ron said sarcastically.

Hermione went red.

"I figured out the riddle, but the potion that'd lead forward was only enough for one. Harry took it and went forward by himself, while I came back and got Ron, then you."

"We couldn't really keep you awake," Ron said, "We used the brooms to fly out and I got you to the hospital wing while Hermione went to send an owl to Professor Dumbledore."

"I just reached the entrance hall, though, when Dumbledore arrived," Hermione said, "He somehow knew we'd gone after the Stone, and he hurried off to the third floor."

"So no one knows what happened to Harry?" Elizabeth asked, "Or why Snape's still here? What happened to Quirrell?"

"No," Ron said, shaking his head, "We were told to go our common room."

"We couldn't sleep at all," Hermione said quietly, "We came to the hospital wing straight away yesterday morning, but Madam Pomfrey told us you were both still asleep. She wouldn't let us visit."

"But she apparently let Lewis visit once you were up," Ron said, rolling his eyes.

"Lewis is my brother, Ron," Elizabeth said with a glare. He looked away quickly at that.

Elizabeth, Hermione, and Ron spent the rest of the day just walking through the castle. Any time they saw anyone, they'd duck out of the way. Ron was a bit annoyed at this. He liked the attention they suddenly had, though Elizabeth and Hermione were happier doing without.

They finally did have to face others, however, when dinner came. They had all skipped lunch, not wanting to attract attention, but they were all starving by dinner time. So they made their way down, reluctantly, and into the Great Hall.

Elizabeth could feel the eyes on her as she went to the Hufflepuff table, separating from Hermione and Ron so she could sit with Susan and Hannah. After all that had happened, she was sure her Housemates were worried about her, even if her brother had told everyone she was fine.

"Elizabeth!" Hannah looked relieved, grinning at her roommate.

"What happened to you?" Susan called.

"Lewis said you were fine, but—"

"I'm fine, don't worry," Elizabeth said, holding her hands up, "I'm fine."

"We've heard so many rumors," Justin was the one who spoke up now.

"Did you really take on a giant chess set?" it was Rodger now.

Questions were coming from all around. Her fellow Hufflepuffs were all asking what rumors were true, which ones weren't. Elizabeth didn't know where to start. She could barely take in what one person asked before another was asking her something else.

She couldn't help but wonder if this was what it was like for Harry. Everyone always watching him. Everyone always wanting to ask him questions. She remembered when she first met him. How she walked up to him at the Gryffindor table, planning to tell him hello. Asking him if he really had the scar. How she'd chickened out and ran away. She wondered how tired Harry had to get of people staring at him and asking about the scar. Asking him if he remembered what happened that night with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. She could barely last the questions through dinner.

For the second night in a row, Elizabeth found herself glad to be going to bed. It meant she could get away from the questions for a while. She drew the curtains around her bed before pulling blankets over her head, eager to get some sleep.

The next morning started the same, with one exception. There was a letter from Elizabeth's mother during breakfast.

_Elizabeth,_

_What were you thinking? You could have been killed down there. How did you think a group of first years would do better than adults, far more capable? You are lucky you weren't expelled for what you got up to. When you get home, you are going to be in deep trouble. Extra chores for the entire summer and don't even think about asking to visit friends or have them visit you. Or flying anywhere on your broom. Or shopping trips with your Aunt Ginger._

_We will talk more about this when you're home._

_Mum_

Elizabeth sighed, putting the letter down. She wasn't at all surprised, and honestly, she was lucky. She knew her mother was right. She was lucky not to be expelled.

"Mum's not happy at all," Lewis said next to Elizabeth. She looked up to see he'd read the letter over her shoulder.

"I expected worse, really," Elizabeth said softly.

"I'm sure she'll get over it," Lewis said, "Give it a couple of weeks of your best behavior, and you'll be back to broom riding and Aunt Ginger shopping trips before you know it."

Elizabeth couldn't help but grin a little at that. Her brother was a pain most of the time, but sometimes he could be really nice.

"Sorry about cursing you," she said.

"Don't worry about it, Liz," Lewis said with a grin. Elizabeth grinned back at him. At least things were okay with her brother.

Elizabeth at least had better news than the letter from home after breakfast. Word was going around that Harry had finally woken up, and Elizabeth rushed to the hospital wing with Hermione and Ron.

It took some convincing before Madam Pomfrey finally let them in. Once she did, she told them they only had five minutes and to be quick. They rushed in and, sure enough, Harry was sitting up in his bed. Elizabeth rushed over, resisting the sudden urge to hug him. Though she, Hermione, and Ron gathered chairs around the bed and sat down.

"The whole school's talking about it," Ron said with a grin.

"There's been several theories on what happened between you and Quirrell," Elizabeth said, "We've been dealing with questions. What really happened?"

Harry looked a bit uncomfortable, but he still seemed willing to tell them.

"It was Quirrell," he said, "Quirrell was behind everything. He let the troll in on Halloween. He was the one jinxing my broom during that first Quidditch match. Snape was muttering a counter-jinx when you distracted both of them, Hermione."

Hermione's eyes widened at that, like she thought the act of distracting the wrong teacher was unthinkable. Elizabeth thought it all worked out well in the end, though, if Quirrell was distracted from killing Harry, things worked out great.

"Quirrell was working for Voldemort—" (Elizabeth and Ron both winced at the name) "—he was the one trying to get the Stone. I found him in the last chamber, standing in front of the Mirror of Erised."

"So Dumbledore was protecting it, too?" Elizabeth asked.

"No, not really," Harry said, "Well, I guess in a way he was. I'll get to that in a second. It'll make sense then."

Harry readjusted himself on the bed and Elizabeth watched him closely, half-wondering if he was okay and half-eager to hear more.

"He was saying he could see himself presenting the Stone to Voldemort, but he couldn't find where it was. I started thinking that I could get to the mirror, wish to find it. To stop him, and then..."

"What?" Hermione and Ron asked together.

Harry looked a bit uncomfortable. He took a slow breath, then continued.

"Quirrell's turban," he said, "He'd been wearing it to hide...Well, Voldemort. Voldemort was attached to the back of his head."

Elizabeth squeaked, covering her mouth and feeling sick. The thought of seeing a face sticking out of another man's head was horrid enough, but that face being of the person who killed your parents...Elizabeth couldn't imagine what that was like. What it'd be like for her, if she found herself facing the Death Eater who'd killed her father before she was even born...

"He told Quirrell to use me," Harry said, "To put me in front in front of the mirror. When I was standing there, I was thinking of finding it, to keep him from getting at it. And...And I saw my reflection move. It lifted up this red stone, and slipped it in his pocket, and then I suddenly felt the Stone in my own pocket."

"How?" Elizabeth asked.

"Dumbledore said he was keeping the Stone safe in the mirror. Only the person who wanted to find it, but not use it, could get it from the mirror."

"Brilliant," Ron said with a grin.

"But what happened to Quirrell?" Hermione asked.

"He tried to attack me," Harry said, "Voldemort knew I had the Philosopher's Stone, and Quirrell tried to get it. But he couldn't touch me. Dumbledore said it was because my mother died to protect me, that it created this...shield. It's why Voldemort couldn't kill me as a baby, why Quirrell couldn't touch me."

"So...He's really dead?" Elizabeth asked softly, "Quirrell?"

"Yes," Harry said softly. Elizabeth felt a little sick over that.

"And the Stone's gone?" Ron asked, "Flamel's just going to _die_?"

"That's what I said, but Dumbledore thinks that—what was it?—'to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure'." Harry paused. "I just remembered, apparently Dumbledore sent me the Invisibility Cloak. He said my father had entrusted it to him."

"It's a good thing he sent it to you," Elizabeth said, "It helped us through a lot."

"So what happened to you?" Harry asked.

Slowly, they took turns explaining. Ron and Hermione did most of it, but Elizabeth pitched in on what had been happening over the past couple of days.

"Do you think he meant you to do it?" Ron asked once they were done, "Sending you your father's cloak and everything?"

"Would Dumbledore be so irresponsible?" Elizabeth asked, "Harry could have been killed."

"He's a funny man, Dumbledore," Harry said quietly, pausing to think, "I think he sort of wanted to give me a chance. I think he knows more or less everything that goes on here, you know. I reckon he had a pretty good idea we were going to try, and instead of stopping us, he just taught us enough to help. I don't think it was an accident he let me find out how the mirror worked. It's almost like he thought I had the right to face Voldemort if I could..."

Elizabeth winced at the name. Was it so hard to say You-Know-Who?

"Dumbledore's off his rocker, all right," Ron said with a grin, "Listen, you've got to be up for the end-of-year feast tomorrow. The points are all in and Slytherin won, of course—you missed the last Quidditch match, we were steamrolled by Ravenclaw without you—but the food'll be good."

"You've had nearly fifteen minutes!" Madam Pomfrey was hurrying over to them, "Now OUT!"

Elizabeth jumped up, giving Harry a grin before she hurried out of the hospital wing with Hermione and Ron, eager to avoid Madam Pomfrey's yelling.

**xxxxx**

The Great Hall the following night was decorated in green and silver Slytherin banners. Elizabeth tried not to look at them as she went to the Hufflepuff table and sat down between Susan and Hannah. After that first day of questions, they'd stopped asking about what happened. They were back to just being her roommates and friends again, not curious onlookers with hundreds of questions for her.

"It's hard to believe the year's over already, isn't it?" Susan asked, looking around them, "We leave on the train tomorrow and we won't be back until September."

"I'm eager to get home," Elizabeth said, "I mean, I'll miss here, but I miss home. I miss my bed, my mum, my aunt..."

"I know what you mean," Hannah said, "It'll be nice getting a long break from classes."

The Great Hall around them suddenly fell quiet and Elizabeth looked up to see Harry had come in and everyone was staring at him now. Almost immediately, though, the seemed to try and pretend they weren't, turning back and talking again. Though Elizabeth saw people kept looking towards him as he passed. Elizabeth gave him a grin and a little wave before he sat down with Ron and Hermione nearby at the Gryffindor table.

Elizabeth had just turned back to Hannah and Susan when Dumbledore entered the Great Hall, making his way to his seat at the staff table before waving for everyone to be quiet.

"Another year gone!" he said, "And I must trouble you with an old man's wheezing waffle before we sink our teeth into our delicious feast. What a year it has been! Hopefully your heads are all a little fuller than they were...you have the whole summer ahead to get them nice and empty before next year starts..."

Elizabeth grinned a little at that. She was sure Dumbledore was right. She'd probably forget half of what she learned before the summer was over.

"Now, as I understand it," Dumbledore went on, "The House Cup here needs awarding, and the points stand as thus: In fourth place, Gryffindor, with three hundred and twelve points; in third, Hufflepuff, with three hundred and ninety-two; Ravenclaw has four hundred and twenty-six, and Slytherin, four hundred and seventy-two."

The Slytherins erupted into applause and Elizabeth didn't dare turn around. She didn't want to see them celebrating.

"Yes, yes, well done, Slytherin," Dumbledore said, "However, recent events must be taken into account."

Elizabeth looked up quickly, her eyes widening.

"I have a few last minute points to dish out," Dumbledore said, "Let's se. Yes..."

"First—to Miss Elizabeth Martin."

Elizabeth went tense. Several of the Hufflepuffs around her were turning to her and she felt her face starting to burn.

"For quick, decisive thinking when friends were in danger, I award Hufflepuff House fifty points."

Elizabeth's eyes widened in shock. That just pushed them past Ravenclaw into second place. Hufflepuffs around her were cheering, and Susan was hugging her so tightly Elizabeth almost couldn't breathe.

"Second—to Mr. Ronald Weasley, for the best-played game of chess Hogwarts has seen in many years, I award Gryffindor House fifty points."

The Gryffindor table next to them erupted into applause. Elizabeth looked over her shoulder to see Ron almost as red as his hair.

"Third—to Miss Hermione Granger," Dumbledore went on, "For the use of cool logic in the face of fire, I award Gryffindor House fifty points."

More cheering from the Gryffindors. Hermione had hidden her face in her arms, apparently. Elizabeth could really only see her from behind.

"Fourth—to Mr. Harry Potter..." Dumbledore said softly once the cheering stopped, "For pure nerve and outstanding courage, I award Gryffindor House sixty points."

Elizabeth had to cover her ears for the deafening roar of cheers from the Gryffindor table. They had just gone from last place to being tied for first. Dumbledore didn't seem to be done, however, as he raised his hands for silence again.

"There are all kinds of courage," Dumbledore said, "It takes a great deal of bravery to stand up to our enemies, but just as much to stand up to our friends. To do what we think is right to protect our family. I therefore award forty points to both Mr. Lewis Martin and Mr. Neville Longbottom."

The Hufflepuffs and Gryffindors were both on their feet screaming now. Gryffindor had just beaten Slytherins for the House Cup, and Hufflepuff had just pushed into second place above Slytherin! Elizabeth was jumping up and down and applauding, screaming and laughing.

"Which means!" somehow, Dumbledore's voice seemed to echo even over all the cheering, "Which means we need a little change of decoration!"

Instantly, the green and silver banners turned to red and gold Gryffindor ones. Elizabeth was still screaming and clapping. There was nothing that could be done to make her night any more great. Except, maybe, Hufflepuff taking the House Cup themselves.

**xxxxx**

"You must come stay this summer. All three of you—I'll send you an owl."

They were standing on platform 9 3/4. They'd just gotten off the Hogwarts Express and Elizabeth was standing with her trolley and cat carrier, while Lewis waited near the barrier. Students were going through one or two at a time, where their parents were meeting them in the Muggle train station beyond the barrier.

"That's if Mum lets me go anywhere after what we got up to this year," Elizabeth said, "I'll probably be lucky if I even get to go to Diagon Alley to get my school supplies."

"Well, I need something to look forward to," Harry said.

"Bye, Harry!"

"See you, Potter!"

Elizabeth watched as people were all wanting to get a look at Harry as they passed. She felt her own face flushing just being near him, knowing these people were seeing her, too.

"Still famous," Ron said with a smirk.

"Not where I'm going, I promise you," Harry replied.

Elizabeth grinned, looking between her friends.

"I'll write as often as I can," she said, "Send anything. I'll need something to take care of my boredom."

She gave her goodbyes before catching up to her brother, and the siblings went through the barrier together.

"There's my favorite niece and nephew."

Elizabeth looked up to see Aunt Ginger coming over, grinning brightly at them, Grace right beside her.

"Mum! Aunt Ginger!" Elizabeth ran forward, hugging them both. It was so great to see them again...

"Don't think this hug is getting you off the hook, Elizabeth," Grace said, hugging Lewis now.

Elizabeth wouldn't ever expect it. When her mother punished them, she stuck to it. Lewis was right and she'd probably let Elizabeth off after a few weeks, but for now, she'd be taking the punishment given.

"Well, I just came by to see you two home," Aunt Ginger said, hugging both of them again, "I've got to get going. I'm meeting Xavier."

"You have a date?" Elizabeth asked excitedly.

"Elizabeth!"

"What?" Elizabeth turned to her mother as Lewis laughed. Aunt Ginger was laughing herself now.

"Yes, Liz, I have a date," she said with a grin, heading off from the others.

Elizabeth grinned as she watched her go, then turned to her mother. She, Grace, and Lewis made their way to an alley before Grace Apparated them home. Elizabeth was so glad to see her home again. She made her way inside and straight to her room, letting Cream out of the carrier before immediately flopping down on her bed. She grabbed her pillow, burying her face in it and breathing in.

It seemed her mother had freshly washed everything. Her pillow smelled of lilacs. Home. Elizabeth grinned against it, hugging it closer to her face, which pressed her glasses more against her nose but she didn't care. She was home.

* * *

**A/N:** Thanks for sticking with me through this. Here ends Elizabeth's first year. I'm still writing on book two, The Year of Doubts. I plan to try and have it finished before I start posting, but I might give in and start posting it anyway. Depending on my mood.


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